Teaching and Learning

In our teaching, we challenge the premise that qualitative research is a toolbox of methods or techniques. Since the topics taken on by qualitative researchers in the health field are typically social in character, we believe students need social theory to frame their studies, interpret data and to re-conceptualize research questions. To optimize the potential of qualitative research, we teach students the multiple paradigms of knowledge production, the need for epistemological and methodological congruence, and the ability to think critically and creatively.

E-Book on Qualitative Research

“Learning and Teaching Qualitative Research in Ontario: A Resource Guide”

This publication is aimed at graduate students, master’s prepared healthcare providers, and postdoctoral fellows with little or no training in qualitative methodologies. It includes an introduction to qualitative methods and educational videos that cover CQ’s key pillars: foundations of qualitative inquiry, doing qualitative research and data analysis and interpretations, along with personal stories from students about learning qualitative research.

View or download the book here http://qualitativeresearchontario.openetext.utoronto.ca/ to see how it might be useful to you in teaching or learning qualitative research. It can be navigated via the table of contents tab.

The book was written by CQ and funded by eCampus Ontario.

eCampus Ontario is gathering data to support ongoing funding from the government for open source initiatives. You can help by reporting any use you make of the book or videos here: https://openlibrary.ecampusontario.ca/report-an-adoption/

Paradigms

Methodology Chapter

A good methodology chapter tells the story of the study – the key and decisive moments in the development of the study, which have influenced the production of the final study structure and results presented. The reader should be offered enough elements to be able to achieve a critical understanding of how the data was generated and interpreted. The researcher should also be critical of the study, pointing to its strengths and limitations. The goal is to describe the research process in its complexity, however keeping a clear and relatively concise style.

A list of elements to be addressed in the methodology chapter in a doctoral dissertation can be viewed here (English language version) and here (Spanish language version).

Interviewing

Dr. Ping-Chun Hsiung has developed an internet accessible courseware on teaching and learning qualitative interviewing. With 37 annotated interview transcripts, the courseware facilitates teaching/learning of analytical skills and critical thinking. A Guide to Qualitative Interviewing can be viewed here.

Publications on Teaching

Eakin, Joan and Mykhalovskiy, Eric. (2005). Teaching against the grain: The challenges of teaching qualitative research in the health sciences. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 6 (2), Art. 42

Hsiung, Ping-Chun. (2008). Teaching reflexivity in qualitative interviewing. Teaching Sociology, 36, 211-226.

Hsiung, Ping-Chun. (2015a). Lives & legacies: A digital courseware for the teaching and learning of qualitative interviewing. Qualitative Inquiry, 22(2), 132–139.

Hsiung, Ping-Chun. (2015b). Teaching qualitative research as transgressive practices: Introduction to the special issue. Qualitative Inquiry, 22(2), 59-71

Teaching Qualitative Health Research

For a list of publications about teaching qualitative research, scroll to the bottom of the publications section here.

Workshop – Teaching Against the Grain: Qualitative Research in the Health Sciences

In 2004, a national invitational workshop called Teaching Against the Grain: Qualitative Research in the Health Sciences was convened in Toronto in response to the teaching-related challenges associated with the increasing use of and demand for qualitative research methodology in the health sciences. Participants included 23 new and established scholars from across Canada, including two guests from Mexico and the UK, and graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. A range of different issues were discussed, including the teaching of social theory, ethics, evaluation, and critical perspectives, and the structural and institutional challenges of teaching an approach to research that differs from the dominant form of science practiced in the field. Members of the workshop exchanged course syllabi and teaching materials, and the event co-ordinators, Joan Eakin and Eric Mykhalovskiy published an account and analysis of the workshop and of the issues. The report can be viewed here.

Woodsworth College - Teaching in Higher Education (THE500)

“In THE500, senior PhD candidates and post-doctoral fellows will improve their teaching practice by becoming more knowledgeable about the ways in which students learn and about different teaching theories and styles. Course participants will experience and take part in a variety of teaching situations, from small group work to more formal lecture sessions. Ample opportunity will be given to participants to reflect on the course as it progresses and on their own teaching and learning experiences.

THE500 is provided free of charge, and upon completion, graduate students will receive an official letter from the university confirming their completion of THE500, with a brief description of its content. The course itself will not appear on your School of Graduate Studies transcript.” – Woodsworth College, 2018