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Qualitative research

In this section on Qualitative Research  you can find out about:

You might also want to consult our other sections on  Planning your research ,  Quantitative research  and  Writing up research , and check out the Additional resources .

  • << Previous: Approaches to quantitative research
  • Next: Developing a theoretical framework >>

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Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (Masters/Doctoral) 2020

Profile image of Sarah  Riforgiate

2020, Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (Masters/Doctoral)

I am inviting you to go on a journey with me to “see” the world differently than you have before. Qualitative work is not simply a method you apply to a study – you must pay attention, listen, question, revisit, observe, think, process, notice, reevaluate, reframe, ask old questions again and create new ones, reflect on your role as researcher, seek to understand and let meaning emerge from careful observations and analysis. You will see things you never noticed before and find that learning leads to more questions than answers. Throughout the class we will read about and discuss methodological choices, but more importantly we will practice them. The point of this class is not do each method perfectly, but to experiment… think about choices… and experiment again. This is messy and uncomfortable work, so embrace the messiness! We will explore who we are 1) as researchers and 2) in our research. We will try out several methods for collecting data (i.e., autoethnography, ethnographic field observation, space mapping, interviews). The later part of the class is dedicated to analysis (i.e., memos, mapping, coding) and sharing findings. Importantly, we will also cover the ethical implications of our research choices and how to assess quality in qualitative research.

Related Papers

This seminar focuses on qualitative methods in the social sciences. It is structured as a survey course, exposing students to a range of issues, rather than intensive training in a single approach. The purpose of the seminar is twofold: First, to provide participants with a broad sense of qualitative research strategies, a better understanding of how to design and carry out research, an awareness of the different logics and trade-offs that distinguish methodologies and methods and an improved capacity to read and evaluate diverse qualitative social science research. Second, to write a dissertation proposal that will be competitive for various external dissertation fellowship funders—such as NSF, Fulbright, SSRC, etc.—and defensible before one’s dissertation committee.

master thesis qualitative research

Juliette Galonnier

This course introduces students to the craft of doing qualitative research through first-hand experience. Students will gather in groups to conduct their own research project in relation to the broader theme “Public space and political life.” By inviting them to “get their hands dirty” in real research, this course provides students with the opportunity to reflect on the practical challenges of qualitative methods in a supportive and collaborative atmosphere. The 12 sessions will combine discussion time on the ongoing research projects and short lecture time and debates on the politics of qualitative research (conducting research during a pandemic, team work, research ethics and reflexivity, fieldnotes, qualitative data analysis, using software, writing, etc.). This workshop is designed in the continuity of the Fall Semester: last Fall, the course “Qualitative Methods I” (with Nadège Ragaru and Sandrine Revet) invited students to critically reflect on a variety of qualitative methods while the course “Research Design” (with Laura Morales) introduced them to the various steps of a research project. The objective of the current workshop is to put these teachings into practice. Students who did not attend these courses should not worry: they will learn on the job! The course is organized as follows: the first 6 sessions explore practical issues in qualitative research and lay the ground for each research project (literature review, research design, first encounters with the field); the next 4 sessions are devoted to discussing the challenges encountered by each group (debriefing); the last 2 sessions are devoted to presentations of group projects and collective discussion. Academic Year: 2021-Spring semester Sciences Po School of Research Masters Program in Political Science

Qualitative Research: Practices and Challenges

Elizabeth M Pope

Sara Caramaschi

This course aims to familiarise doctoral students with the basic theories, methods and techniques that are appropriate for approaching fieldwork research in local and regional development studies from a perspective of reflexive methodology. At the conceptual level, this course will offer a critical introduction to the evolution of epistemological paradigms in the social sciences (from scientific positivism to social constructionism and neo-realism), showing how the interplay between philosophical ideas and empirical work marks high-quality research. At a practical level, the course will show how to approach fieldwork in local and regional development research through case-study research and other qualitative methodologies. The course, therefore, will focus on both theoretical and practical issues in fieldwork research, raising in particular the following questions: - Can knowledge be separated from the knower and their subjectivity? - What is the specific contribution of reflexive approaches to social science research? - How is the positionality of the researcher reflected in the empirical research? - What are the key concerns and criticisms of any fieldwork? These encompass the intellectual construction of fieldwork; its practical value to you as a doctoral student; its financial and environmental costs; and its ethics.

This course introduces students to qualitative methods in the social sciences. It highlights the contributions of qualitative research to the in-depth study of the State, politics, institutions and international organizations. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with a range of qualitative methods, including interviews, ethnography, archival work (with official and leaked documents), focus groups, media analysis, online research and international comparison. They will read key authors (and watch documentaries) who use qualitative methods to examine the crafting of public policy, the history of institutions, interactions between citizens and the State and the inner workings of international organizations. Students will also collectively engage with the strengths and challenges of qualitative methods by conducting their own research project on the topic of their choice. Academic Year: 2021-Spring semester Sciences Po Undergraduate 2nd year

Marie-Hélène Paré

MKSES Publication

Vipul K U M A R Gautam

This article presents a comprehensive exploration of commonly utilized qualitative research methods in the social sciences. Covering essential methodologies such as ethnography, phenomenology, grounded theory, case study, content analysis, and ethnomethodology, the article delves into their ontological and epistemological foundations, objectives, applications, and specific approaches to sampling, data collection, and analysis. The discussion navigates the constructivist and interpretive paradigms that underlie these methods, emphasizing the subjective understanding of human behaviour within socially constructed realities. Each method's unique objectives are delineated, from unravelling social order construction in ethnography to exploring individual lived experiences in phenomenology and developing theories grounded in qualitative data in grounded theory. The article highlights the practical application of these methods in social science. Emphasizing the flexibility and purposive nature of sampling, coupled with iterative data analysis techniques, the article underscores the common thread uniting these approaches. It emphasizes the profound significance of these qualitative methods in unravelling intricate social phenomena that defy easy quantification, ultimately contributing to a nuanced understanding of the dynamic facets of the human condition in the field of social research.

SEID A H M E D MUHE

Lauren MacLean

ISSN: 2153-6767 Inside: Letter from the President Jason Seawright Letter from the Editor Jennifer Cyr Original article: Disrupted Fieldwork: Navigating Innovation, Redesign, and Ethics during an Ongoing Pandemic Authors: Lauren M. MacLean, Nabila Rahman, Robin L. Turner, and Jack Corbett Original article: Shadow Cases in Comparative Research Author: Hillel Soifer Symposium: Authors meet Critics—Veil of ignorance Process Tracing

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master thesis qualitative research

Qualitative Research 101: Interviewing

5 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Undertaking Interviews

By: David Phair (PhD) and Kerryn Warren (PhD) | March 2022

Undertaking interviews is potentially the most important step in the qualitative research process. If you don’t collect useful, useable data in your interviews, you’ll struggle through the rest of your dissertation or thesis.  Having helped numerous students with their research over the years, we’ve noticed some common interviewing mistakes that first-time researchers make. In this post, we’ll discuss five costly interview-related mistakes and outline useful strategies to avoid making these.

Overview: 5 Interviewing Mistakes

  • Not having a clear interview strategy /plan
  • Not having good interview techniques /skills
  • Not securing a suitable location and equipment
  • Not having a basic risk management plan
  • Not keeping your “ golden thread ” front of mind

1. Not having a clear interview strategy

The first common mistake that we’ll look at is that of starting the interviewing process without having first come up with a clear interview strategy or plan of action. While it’s natural to be keen to get started engaging with your interviewees, a lack of planning can result in a mess of data and inconsistency between interviews.

There are several design choices to decide on and plan for before you start interviewing anyone. Some of the most important questions you need to ask yourself before conducting interviews include:

  • What are the guiding research aims and research questions of my study?
  • Will I use a structured, semi-structured or unstructured interview approach?
  • How will I record the interviews (audio or video)?
  • Who will be interviewed and by whom ?
  • What ethics and data law considerations do I need to adhere to?
  • How will I analyze my data? 

Let’s take a quick look at some of these.

The core objective of the interviewing process is to generate useful data that will help you address your overall research aims. Therefore, your interviews need to be conducted in a way that directly links to your research aims, objectives and research questions (i.e. your “golden thread”). This means that you need to carefully consider the questions you’ll ask to ensure that they align with and feed into your golden thread. If any question doesn’t align with this, you may want to consider scrapping it.

Another important design choice is whether you’ll use an unstructured, semi-structured or structured interview approach . For semi-structured interviews, you will have a list of questions that you plan to ask and these questions will be open-ended in nature. You’ll also allow the discussion to digress from the core question set if something interesting comes up. This means that the type of information generated might differ a fair amount between interviews.

Contrasted to this, a structured approach to interviews is more rigid, where a specific set of closed questions is developed and asked for each interviewee in exactly the same order. Closed questions have a limited set of answers, that are often single-word answers. Therefore, you need to think about what you’re trying to achieve with your research project (i.e. your research aims) and decided on which approach would be best suited in your case.

It is also important to plan ahead with regards to who will be interviewed and how. You need to think about how you will approach the possible interviewees to get their cooperation, who will conduct the interviews, when to conduct the interviews and how to record the interviews. For each of these decisions, it’s also essential to make sure that all ethical considerations and data protection laws are taken into account.

Finally, you should think through how you plan to analyze the data (i.e., your qualitative analysis method) generated by the interviews. Different types of analysis rely on different types of data, so you need to ensure you’re asking the right types of questions and correctly guiding your respondents.

Simply put, you need to have a plan of action regarding the specifics of your interview approach before you start collecting data. If not, you’ll end up drifting in your approach from interview to interview, which will result in inconsistent, unusable data.

Your interview questions need to directly  link to your research aims, objectives and  research questions - your "golden thread”.

2. Not having good interview technique

While you’re generally not expected to become you to be an expert interviewer for a dissertation or thesis, it is important to practice good interview technique and develop basic interviewing skills .

Let’s go through some basics that will help the process along.

Firstly, before the interview , make sure you know your interview questions well and have a clear idea of what you want from the interview. Naturally, the specificity of your questions will depend on whether you’re taking a structured, semi-structured or unstructured approach, but you still need a consistent starting point . Ideally, you should develop an interview guide beforehand (more on this later) that details your core question and links these to the research aims, objectives and research questions.

Before you undertake any interviews, it’s a good idea to do a few mock interviews with friends or family members. This will help you get comfortable with the interviewer role, prepare for potentially unexpected answers and give you a good idea of how long the interview will take to conduct. In the interviewing process, you’re likely to encounter two kinds of challenging interviewees ; the two-word respondent and the respondent who meanders and babbles. Therefore, you should prepare yourself for both and come up with a plan to respond to each in a way that will allow the interview to continue productively.

To begin the formal interview , provide the person you are interviewing with an overview of your research. This will help to calm their nerves (and yours) and contextualize the interaction. Ultimately, you want the interviewee to feel comfortable and be willing to be open and honest with you, so it’s useful to start in a more casual, relaxed fashion and allow them to ask any questions they may have. From there, you can ease them into the rest of the questions.

As the interview progresses , avoid asking leading questions (i.e., questions that assume something about the interviewee or their response). Make sure that you speak clearly and slowly , using plain language and being ready to paraphrase questions if the person you are interviewing misunderstands. Be particularly careful with interviewing English second language speakers to ensure that you’re both on the same page.

Engage with the interviewee by listening to them carefully and acknowledging that you are listening to them by smiling or nodding. Show them that you’re interested in what they’re saying and thank them for their openness as appropriate. This will also encourage your interviewee to respond openly.

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master thesis qualitative research

3. Not securing a suitable location and quality equipment

Where you conduct your interviews and the equipment you use to record them both play an important role in how the process unfolds. Therefore, you need to think carefully about each of these variables before you start interviewing.

Poor location: A bad location can result in the quality of your interviews being compromised, interrupted, or cancelled. If you are conducting physical interviews, you’ll need a location that is quiet, safe, and welcoming . It’s very important that your location of choice is not prone to interruptions (the workplace office is generally problematic, for example) and has suitable facilities (such as water, a bathroom, and snacks).

If you are conducting online interviews , you need to consider a few other factors. Importantly, you need to make sure that both you and your respondent have access to a good, stable internet connection and electricity. Always check before the time that both of you know how to use the relevant software and it’s accessible (sometimes meeting platforms are blocked by workplace policies or firewalls). It’s also good to have alternatives in place (such as WhatsApp, Zoom, or Teams) to cater for these types of issues.

Poor equipment: Using poor-quality recording equipment or using equipment incorrectly means that you will have trouble transcribing, coding, and analyzing your interviews. This can be a major issue , as some of your interview data may go completely to waste if not recorded well. So, make sure that you use good-quality recording equipment and that you know how to use it correctly.

To avoid issues, you should always conduct test recordings before every interview to ensure that you can use the relevant equipment properly. It’s also a good idea to spot check each recording afterwards, just to make sure it was recorded as planned. If your equipment uses batteries, be sure to always carry a spare set.

Where you conduct your interviews and the equipment you use to record them play an important role in how the process unfolds.

4. Not having a basic risk management plan

Many possible issues can arise during the interview process. Not planning for these issues can mean that you are left with compromised data that might not be useful to you. Therefore, it’s important to map out some sort of risk management plan ahead of time, considering the potential risks, how you’ll minimize their probability and how you’ll manage them if they materialize.

Common potential issues related to the actual interview include cancellations (people pulling out), delays (such as getting stuck in traffic), language and accent differences (especially in the case of poor internet connections), issues with internet connections and power supply. Other issues can also occur in the interview itself. For example, the interviewee could drift off-topic, or you might encounter an interviewee who does not say much at all.

You can prepare for these potential issues by considering possible worst-case scenarios and preparing a response for each scenario. For instance, it is important to plan a backup date just in case your interviewee cannot make it to the first meeting you scheduled with them. It’s also a good idea to factor in a 30-minute gap between your interviews for the instances where someone might be late, or an interview runs overtime for other reasons. Make sure that you also plan backup questions that could be used to bring a respondent back on topic if they start rambling, or questions to encourage those who are saying too little.

In general, it’s best practice to plan to conduct more interviews than you think you need (this is called oversampling ). Doing so will allow you some room for error if there are interviews that don’t go as planned, or if some interviewees withdraw. If you need 10 interviews, it is a good idea to plan for 15. Likely, a few will cancel , delay, or not produce useful data.

You should consider all the potential risks, how you’ll reduce their probability and how you'll respond if they do indeed materialize.

5. Not keeping your golden thread front of mind

We touched on this a little earlier, but it is a key point that should be central to your entire research process. You don’t want to end up with pages and pages of data after conducting your interviews and realize that it is not useful to your research aims . Your research aims, objectives and research questions – i.e., your golden thread – should influence every design decision and should guide the interview process at all times. 

A useful way to avoid this mistake is by developing an interview guide before you begin interviewing your respondents. An interview guide is a document that contains all of your questions with notes on how each of the interview questions is linked to the research question(s) of your study. You can also include your research aims and objectives here for a more comprehensive linkage. 

You can easily create an interview guide by drawing up a table with one column containing your core interview questions . Then add another column with your research questions , another with expectations that you may have in light of the relevant literature and another with backup or follow-up questions . As mentioned, you can also bring in your research aims and objectives to help you connect them all together. If you’d like, you can download a copy of our free interview guide here .

Recap: Qualitative Interview Mistakes

In this post, we’ve discussed 5 common costly mistakes that are easy to make in the process of planning and conducting qualitative interviews.

To recap, these include:

If you have any questions about these interviewing mistakes, drop a comment below. Alternatively, if you’re interested in getting 1-on-1 help with your thesis or dissertation , check out our dissertation coaching service or book a free initial consultation with one of our friendly Grad Coaches.

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  • Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates

Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates

Published on June 7, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on November 21, 2023.

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical early steps in your writing process . It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding the specifics of your dissertation topic and showcasing its relevance to your field.

Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation , such as:

  • Your anticipated title
  • Your abstract
  • Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review, research methods, avenues for future research, etc.)

In the final product, you can also provide a chapter outline for your readers. This is a short paragraph at the end of your introduction to inform readers about the organizational structure of your thesis or dissertation. This chapter outline is also known as a reading guide or summary outline.

Table of contents

How to outline your thesis or dissertation, dissertation and thesis outline templates, chapter outline example, sample sentences for your chapter outline, sample verbs for variation in your chapter outline, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis and dissertation outlines.

While there are some inter-institutional differences, many outlines proceed in a fairly similar fashion.

  • Working Title
  • “Elevator pitch” of your work (often written last).
  • Introduce your area of study, sharing details about your research question, problem statement , and hypotheses . Situate your research within an existing paradigm or conceptual or theoretical framework .
  • Subdivide as you see fit into main topics and sub-topics.
  • Describe your research methods (e.g., your scope , population , and data collection ).
  • Present your research findings and share about your data analysis methods.
  • Answer the research question in a concise way.
  • Interpret your findings, discuss potential limitations of your own research and speculate about future implications or related opportunities.

For a more detailed overview of chapters and other elements, be sure to check out our article on the structure of a dissertation or download our template .

To help you get started, we’ve created a full thesis or dissertation template in Word or Google Docs format. It’s easy adapt it to your own requirements.

 Download Word template    Download Google Docs template

Chapter outline example American English

It can be easy to fall into a pattern of overusing the same words or sentence constructions, which can make your work monotonous and repetitive for your readers. Consider utilizing some of the alternative constructions presented below.

Example 1: Passive construction

The passive voice is a common choice for outlines and overviews because the context makes it clear who is carrying out the action (e.g., you are conducting the research ). However, overuse of the passive voice can make your text vague and imprecise.

Example 2: IS-AV construction

You can also present your information using the “IS-AV” (inanimate subject with an active verb ) construction.

A chapter is an inanimate object, so it is not capable of taking an action itself (e.g., presenting or discussing). However, the meaning of the sentence is still easily understandable, so the IS-AV construction can be a good way to add variety to your text.

Example 3: The “I” construction

Another option is to use the “I” construction, which is often recommended by style manuals (e.g., APA Style and Chicago style ). However, depending on your field of study, this construction is not always considered professional or academic. Ask your supervisor if you’re not sure.

Example 4: Mix-and-match

To truly make the most of these options, consider mixing and matching the passive voice , IS-AV construction , and “I” construction .This can help the flow of your argument and improve the readability of your text.

As you draft the chapter outline, you may also find yourself frequently repeating the same words, such as “discuss,” “present,” “prove,” or “show.” Consider branching out to add richness and nuance to your writing. Here are some examples of synonyms you can use.

Address Describe Imply Refute
Argue Determine Indicate Report
Claim Emphasize Mention Reveal
Clarify Examine Point out Speculate
Compare Explain Posit Summarize
Concern Formulate Present Target
Counter Focus on Propose Treat
Define Give Provide insight into Underpin
Demonstrate Highlight Recommend Use

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or research bias, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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When you mention different chapters within your text, it’s considered best to use Roman numerals for most citation styles. However, the most important thing here is to remain consistent whenever using numbers in your dissertation .

The title page of your thesis or dissertation goes first, before all other content or lists that you may choose to include.

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical first steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.

  • Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review , research methods , avenues for future research, etc.)

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131 Interesting Qualitative Research Topics For High Scoring Thesis

qualitative research topics

Qualitative research topics are undoubtedly not easy. While statistics enthralls some students, others don’t like the subject. That’s because qualitative assignments entail cognitive analysis, which complicates them. But apart from the hardships of completing the projects, selecting topics for qualitative research papers is also a challenge.

This article presents a list of 130-plus qualitative research topic ideas to help learners that struggle to get titles for their papers. It is helpful because many learners have difficulties picking titles that will make their essays impressive to educators. But before presenting the topics, this article defines qualitative research.

What Is Qualitative Research?

Qualitative research is an investigative and innovative abstract data analysis. When writing a qualitative research paper, a learner analyzes intangible data. Qualitative researchers code the data after or during collection. Therefore, having top-notch research topics is necessary for a first-class essay.

Knowing how to write a qualitative research paper is vital because it helps the student deliver a copy that provides a clear picture of an event or situation. A researcher can achieve this via practical experience, reliable reporting, and conversations. Gathering raw data is the initial step in qualitative research. A researcher can gather raw data by conducting reviews, observations, and surveys. Also, researchers can use creative methods to collect data.

Best Examples Of Qualitative Research Topics

Qualitative research covers many things. Here are examples of topics that learners can explore in their qualitative study.

  • What causes stigma around some health challenges?
  • Stigma facing the people living with disabilities- What is the cause?
  • Can Pro Bono legal assistance improve the criminal justice system?
  • How the less privileged can benefit from Pro Bono services
  • The educational challenges facing rural children- Are there ways to help them?
  • Child labor causes- How to mitigate the practice
  • Substance and drugs- What are young people abusing more?
  • How alcohol affects college students
  • Can food insecurity interfere with children’s performance in school?
  • Food banks intricacies- Understanding the challenge in low-income areas
  • Free education- Does it have socioeconomic benefits?
  • Culture and female harm- What’s the connection?
  • The impact of social media on physical and social engagement among teens in urban areas
  • Using medication to treat depression- What are the health benefits?
  • Investigating peer educators’ efficiency in creating awareness of health and social issues
  • Gender-based violence- What causes it in rural areas, and how does it affect victims?
  • Sexual reproductive health challenges of child brides- Are there ways to control it?
  • Investigating the causes of school dropout among teenagers
  • How to address school dropout among young adults
  • Investigating the deteriorating academic pursuit in Third-World countries
  • Social activities- Do they have benefits for depressed people?
  • Investigating cerebral palsy and the stigma that people associate with it.
  • Living with disabilities- Are there social implications?
  • The impact of ableism on disabled people
  • Exploring the promotion and benefits of feminist values
  • Why should society promote free education in all learning environments?
  • What causes food insecurities among low-income earners?
  • Food and housing insecurity- What are the root causes?
  • What are the effects of displacement- Investigating the homeless people’s mental health

These are good examples of qualitative research topics. However, a student that picks a title in this category should research it extensively to impress the educator with their work.

Qualitative Nursing Research Topics

Professors ask students to write about qualitative topics when pursuing nursing studies. Here are issues to consider in this category.

  • How does the nurse-patient relationship affect health outcomes?
  • How can nurses deal with complex patients?
  • How can nurses provide culturally competent care?
  • How do personal beliefs affect nursing practice?
  • What is the impact of spirituality on nursing care?
  • How does the nurse’s role change when working with terminally ill patients?
  • What challenges do nurses face when providing end-of-life care?
  • How can nurses best support families whose members have serious illnesses?
  • What are the unique challenges of caring for elderly patients?
  • How does the nurse’s role change when working in a hospice setting?
  • Health outreach programs- What are the most effective ways to execute them?
  • Effective methods of curbing drug abuse
  • Effective ways to help rape survivors
  • How can nurses administer care to female genital mutilation victims?
  • How to care for special needs individuals
  • Anxiety and depression symptoms
  • Methods of administering care to Dyslexia patients
  • How to help individuals dealing with mental disorders
  • Signs of Alzheimer’s disease in older people
  • How to provide primary patient care

These are good qualitative research topics for students pursuing nursing studies. Nevertheless, learners must research any of these titles before writing their papers.

Qualitative Research Topics In Education

Most topics spring up from the education niche despite fitting other specifications. Here are examples of qualitative research topics that include the education niche.

  • Are guidance and counseling essential in schools?
  • How computer literacy affects education
  • Why governments in developing schools should encourage adult education
  • Autistic children’s education- Which learning style suits them?
  • Is mental health education relevant in the modern school curriculum?
  • Exploring the learning conditions for kids in third world countries
  • Child education and food insecurity- What is the connection?
  • The impact of virtual learning on high school students
  • How does alcoholism affect a student and their education?
  • Homeschooling- What are its advantages and disadvantages?
  • How do teachers’ beliefs about intelligence affect their teaching?
  • What is the teacher’s role in developing a student’s self-concept?
  • Does race or ethnicity play a role in how teachers treat their students?
  • What are the teachers’ experiences with teaching students with special needs?
  • What methods do effective teachers use to motivate their students?
  • What are the most effective ways to teach reading and writing?
  • How does technology use affect how teachers teach, and students learn?
  • What are the challenges faced by teachers in rural areas?
  • What are the challenges faced by teachers in urban areas?
  • How do charter schools differ from traditional public schools?

Many topics and issues in the education system allow learners to find subjects to investigate and cover in their papers quickly. And this is not an exhaustive qualitative research topic list in this field. Nevertheless, it covers the most exciting ideas to explore.

Qualitative Research Topics In Public Health

Educators ask students to write academic papers while studying the public health sector. And this provides insights into crucial and relevant aspects of this sector. Here are qualitative research topics examples in this category.

  • How does the public health sector manage epidemics?
  • The role of public health in disaster management
  • Evaluating the effectiveness of public health campaigns
  • An analysis of the factors that hinder effective public health delivery
  • Access to healthcare: A study of rural and urban populations
  • Health needs assessment of refugees
  • Mental health support within the public health sector
  • The role of technology in public health
  • Understanding and addressing health disparities
  • Sexual and reproductive health rights in the public health discourse
  • How immunization benefits people in rural areas
  • What causes water-borne diseases, and how can society mitigate them?
  • Symptoms of high blood pressure among young people
  • How antenatal care helps pregnant women
  • How to boost breast cancer awareness

These are excellent qualitative research paper topics in the public health sector. Nevertheless, learners need sufficient time and resources to investigate their preferred titles in this category to write winning papers.

Qualitative Research Topics In Project Management

Project management writing focuses on ways to achieve results and goals while basing the achievement on the process. This subject covers planning, structuring, proffering, and controlling ways to execute plans to accomplish desired goals. Here are research topics for qualitative research in project management.

  • How effective communication strategies can impact the outcome of a project
  • How different leadership styles affect team productivity during a project
  • The role of conflict management in ensuring successful project outcomes
  • Gender differences in the perception and understanding of project risk
  • The impact of organizational culture on a project’s likelihood of success
  • How different project management methodologies affect its outcome
  • The effect of stakeholder involvement on project success
  • How to manage virtual teams effectively to ensure successful project outcomes
  • What motivates project managers to achieve successful results?
  • How can project managers create a positive work environment that leads to successful outcomes?
  • What challenges do project managers face when trying to achieve successful outcomes?
  • How can project management be used to achieve social change?
  • What are the ethical implications of project management?
  • What are the global impacts of project management?
  • Ways to achieve sustainable development through project management

These are topics to explore in project management. Nevertheless, learners need adequate time to investigate their chosen titles and write winning essays.

Qualitative Research Topics In Political Science

Qualitative research can also cover political science. Investigating this field enables people to understand it better and can be broad. Here are sample titles to consider in for your scientific thesis .

  • How do social media affect the way people engage with politics?
  • What motivates people to vote?
  • How does voting behavior change over time?
  • What are the consequences of gerrymandering?
  • How does campaign finance influence elections?
  • Interest groups- What is their role in politics?
  • How do the media cover politics?
  • What are the effects of political scandals?
  • How does public opinion influence policymakers?
  • How feminism enhanced the American politics
  • The adverse effects of misrepresentation
  • The American democracy- A look into its dimensions
  • Colorism, racism, and classism- How the American ideologies differ
  • What causes an election crisis?
  • Two-party system- What challenges does it face in America?
  • Black women’s inclusion in the American politics
  • Should America have a multi-party system?
  • Why mass media matters in politics’ scrutiny and promotion

While political science is a broad field, these narrow topics help learners handle their research effectively. Pick any of these ideas to write a winning essay.

Topics For Ethnography Qualitative Research

Ethnographic research entails studying and paying attention to society and describing it. Here are topics to consider for a research paper in this field.

  • Studying a subculture: Reasons people join and stay in gangs
  • How does social media use vary by culture?
  • An ethnographic study of a homeless shelter or soup kitchen
  • Understanding the lives of sex workers through ethnography
  • The impact of religion on family life
  • How does parenting vary between cultures?
  • How do children learn and socialize in different cultures?
  • What is the effect of migration on family life?
  • What are the experiences of refugees?- An explorative case study
  • What is the impact of poverty on family life?
  • How do people in different cultures understand and experience mental illness?
  • What is the role of the family in other cultures?
  • What are the end-of-life experiences and beliefs around death in different cultures?

This article has presented easy qualitative research topics. However, some need time and resources to investigate and write quality papers. Therefore, pick your paper title carefully to write an essay that will earn you an excellent grade.

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  1. PDF Student Engagement: a Qualitative Study of Extracurricular Activities

    thesis supervisor during this research. The effort, encouragement, wisdom, and valuable recommendations and guidance he imparted greatly supported me throughout this research completion. Many thanks, Jim. I am most thankful to the members of my dissertation committee, Dr. John Portelli and Dr. Joe Flessa.

  2. A Qualitative Case Study of Students Perceptions of Their Experiences

    qualitative research professor. I was positive that I would design a quantitative research study but the qualitative courses in the program highlighted the merits of qualitative research. Dr. Cozza and Ms. Rosaria Cimino, thanks for the advisement support. To all the Ed.D. candidates that I encountered on my academic journey, especially my

  3. Tips for a qualitative dissertation

    Undertaking an MSc dissertation in Evidence-Based Health Care (EBHC) may be your first hands-on experience of doing qualitative research. I chatted to Dr. Veronika Williams, an experienced qualitative researcher, and tutor on the EBHC programme, to find out her top tips for producing a high-quality qualitative EBHC thesis.

  4. PDF Writing up your PhD (Qualitative Research)

    What makes qualitative research 'qualitative'? Before we look at alternative thesis structures, let's take a step backand consider the fundamental differences between qualitative and quantitative research: Qualitative researching is exciting and important. It is a highly rewarding activity because it engages us

  5. PDF 1 Structure and Introduction

    DESCRIPTION OF RESEARCH PROCEDURES. DISCUSSION OF DATA. 1) Summary of your basic message. 2) Your statement of topic and focus. 3) Your vision and motivation for the research, and how you locate it within broader work. 4) Your choice of research setting and overall data collection. strategy. 5) How your thesis. is structured.

  6. Sage Research Methods

    Many students struggle with turning qualitative research projects into a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation because the research itself is inherently messy. To address this challenge, authors Linda Dale Bloomberg and Marie Volpe have distilled decades of experience into a first-of-its-kind, highly practical reference for graduate students.

  7. 3) Qualitative research

    In this section on Qualitative Research you can find out about: Developing a theoretical framework; Reflecting on your position; Extended literature reviews; Presenting qualitative data; You might also want to consult our other sections on Planning your research, Quantitative research and Writing up research, and check out the Additional resources.

  8. Qualitative Description as an Introductory Method to Qualitative

    Qualitative Description (QD) emerges as a pivotal introductory method in qualitative research for master's-level students and research trainees. Its principal strength lies in its straightforward, adaptable approach that emphasizes direct descriptions of experiences and events, staying close to the data.

  9. What Is Qualitative Research?

    Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can be used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or generate new ideas for research. Qualitative research is the opposite of quantitative research, which involves collecting and ...

  10. Dissertation Results & Findings Chapter (Qualitative)

    The results chapter in a dissertation or thesis (or any formal academic research piece) is where you objectively and neutrally present the findings of your qualitative analysis (or analyses if you used multiple qualitative analysis methods). This chapter can sometimes be combined with the discussion chapter (where you interpret the data and ...

  11. Planning Qualitative Research: Design and Decision Making for New

    While many books and articles guide various qualitative research methods and analyses, there is currently no concise resource that explains and differentiates among the most common qualitative approaches. We believe novice qualitative researchers, students planning the design of a qualitative study or taking an introductory qualitative research course, and faculty teaching such courses can ...

  12. HOW TO WRITE YOUR MASTER THESIS: THE EASY HANDBOOK

    minimum of ten days for all members of the thesis committee to review the thesis. Step 1: Prepare the content of your presentation. The content of your presentation is the mirror of your thesis ...

  13. PDF A Sample Qualitative Dissertation Proposal

    word guidelines to highlight the flexibility of this qualitative analytic method. These guidelines. are (1) familiarizing yourself with your data, (2) generating initial codes, (3) The researcher read. throughout each transcript to immerse in the data, (4) reviewing themes, (5) defining and naming.

  14. Prize-Winning Thesis and Dissertation Examples

    Prize-Winning Thesis and Dissertation Examples. Published on September 9, 2022 by Tegan George.Revised on July 18, 2023. It can be difficult to know where to start when writing your thesis or dissertation.One way to come up with some ideas or maybe even combat writer's block is to check out previous work done by other students on a similar thesis or dissertation topic to yours.

  15. Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (Masters/Doctoral) 2020

    Academic Year: 2021-Spring semester Sciences Po School of Research Masters Program in Political Science. Download Free PDF View PDF. ... QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS - COMMUN 702 University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee - Department of Communication Spring 2020 - Section Number 54362 Room: Johnston Hall 310 Time: Thursday 3:30pm to 6:10pm Sarah ...

  16. What kind of research methods should I use for my thesis: qualitative

    It is very important to choose the right research methodology and methods for your thesis, as your research is the base that your entire thesis will rest on. It will be difficult for me to choose a research method for you. You will be the best judge of the kind of methods that work for your research.

  17. PDF Pinning Pretty: A Qualitative Study of Pinterest Users' Practices and Views

    the research. The final chapter will present the results of the research, and finish with a few considerations for future studies. LITERATURE REVIEW The exploration of the relationship between technology and gender is an expansive field, as diverse and varied as the Internet itself. This dissertation will examine the variety of ways in

  18. How to Write a Results Section

    Reporting qualitative research results. ... The results chapter of a thesis or dissertation presents your research results concisely and objectively. ... Tegan is an American based in Amsterdam, with master's degrees in political science and education administration. While she is definitely a political scientist at heart, her experience working ...

  19. The Characteristics of Qualitative Research: a Study With Theses From a

    In the analysis, it was not identified thesis whose research approac h was exclusively quantitative. Percentage of 12.3% (n=7) of the selected theses were classified as research

  20. How To Do Qualitative Interviews For Research

    5. Not keeping your golden thread front of mind. We touched on this a little earlier, but it is a key point that should be central to your entire research process. You don't want to end up with pages and pages of data after conducting your interviews and realize that it is not useful to your research aims.

  21. Dissertation & Thesis Outline

    Example 1: Passive construction. The passive voice is a common choice for outlines and overviews because the context makes it clear who is carrying out the action (e.g., you are conducting the research). However, overuse of the passive voice can make your text vague and imprecise. Example: Passive construction.

  22. 131 Qualitative Research Topics For Academic Thesis Writing

    Here are research topics for qualitative research in project management. How effective communication strategies can impact the outcome of a project. How different leadership styles affect team productivity during a project. The role of conflict management in ensuring successful project outcomes. Gender differences in the perception and ...