QUALITATIVE METHODS FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

Development Studies, Brown University

Spring 2013

Course Instructors:
Sukriti Issar Tues 4-6:20pm, in Watson 112

Office Hours:
S. Issar: Mon 10am-1pm (sign up for a slot online) OR Tues 10am-12pm (walk-in)
All office hours are held in the Development Studies Office, Watson 124

Course description
The Development Studies thesis requires conducting original research (usually qualitative) through
field research, analysis of documents or analysis of datasets. In this course, students will learn to
design rigorous and imaginative research. The main learning goal is to understand the relationship
between research question, methods, and academic literature. What is an effective research question?
How do you find a good empirical case? How do you link question, method, and literature into a
coherent research proposal? These questions will be answered through lectures, how-to assignments,
deconstructing research papers, class debate, work-shopping of student writing, and reading
examples of BA theses. For their final assignments, students will write a 15-20 page prospectus
containing the research design and theoretical framework of their thesis.
The concrete objectives of the course are:
a. The use of the entire range of qualitative methodological instruments
b. The writing of a complete research proposal for the DS senior thesis.
The course meets once a week. Lectures, readings, and in-class discussions will focus around
critically analyzing research papers, sample theses, and the students own writing and experiences
conducting research. Topics will include writing up theory in conjunction with your data, building
analytical and theoretical arguments, developing theoretical ideas, organizing and structuring your
writing, editing and revising your own writing, correct citation procedures, and research ethics.
Readings include chapters or articles on research methods and empirical articles that serve as
exemplars. The course is loosely organized around the stages of research. Readings focus on
observational research, interviews, content analysis, case studies, components of a research study,
hypotheses and questions, and writing the literature review.
In order to ensure that students build hands-on research skills, the course requires participants to
carry out practical exercises for each of these qualitative methodological tools. For example, students
will conduct an interview, transcribe and analyze it, and write up the results in light of theory. Prior
to receiving interview assignments, the class is given training in conducting face-to-face interviews.
These assignments ensure that students find faculty advisors and have a developed thesis topic before
summer break (a period that can be used for data collection).
DEVL1500 ensures that students are fully aware of the ethical issues of conducting research with
human subjects. The course concludes with the presentation of senior thesis proposals at the Watson
Institute. All development studies concentrators are encouraged to participate in this public event.

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Requirements

Participation: This is a participatory course, oriented toward learning research skills and applying
these to your own project. Therefore you are expected to complete assignments and readings on time
as well as contribute to class discussion. Lectures and discussions are intended to supplement, not
replace, the readings. Upcoming topics will be previewed briefly at the conclusion of each class to
assist students in making the most of their reading.

Conferences: Bi-monthly individual conferences will be held during office hours. You must sign up
online for a 20-minute time slot. Conferences provide a valuable opportunity for you to receive
individual attention about your progress in finding a thesis topic, finding an advisor, and planning
fieldwork. Attendance at conferences is mandatory, and students are expected to be fully prepared
and to participate actively. Please email me 24 hours ahead of time if you cant make it to a
conference in order to reschedule.

Written Assignments: All written assignments should be formatted in double-spaced, 12 pt., Times
New Roman, 1 margin. Careful proofreading is a must. Please submit your assignments to Canvas.
Place your name and the assignment due date as the filename.doc. Submit all assignments as Word
documents this will make it easier for your instructor to give you in-text comments and revisions.
Late assignments will be penalized. If you have a disability and need accommodations for
assignments please speak with me about it.
1. February 10: Assignment 1: Observing Social Life 10/100 points (4-5 pages plus appendix
with field-notes). 10/100 points
2. March 3: Assignment 2: Prospectus Draft 1 finding your question (2-3 pages). 5/100 points
3. March 17: Assignment 3: Interviewing 10/100 points (4-5 pages plus appendix with
interview transcript).
4. April 7: Assignment 4: Content Analysis. (4-5 pages plus appendix with codes). 15/100
points.
5. April 21: Assignment 5: Prospectus Draft 2 finding the literature (5-10 pages, including at
least 5 readings for your topic).15/100 points
6. May 15: Assignment 6: Final Thesis Prospectus putting it together (15-20 pages). 30/100
points
7. Attendance, Class Participation, Writing Conferences and Thesis Progress Reports: 15/100
points

Late Paper Policies:

Unexcused (i.e., no doctors note; extraordinary personal circumstances, to be determined by the
course professor) latenesses will result in the following penalties:- One-third letter grade for each 24
hour period late (i.e. A- becomes a B+).- Even if the lateness penalty will result in a failed grade, all
papers must be turned in to satisfactorily complete the course.

Plagiarism Policy
Plagiarism is the use of someone elses work or ideas without acknowledging them as the source.
This rule applies to all writing assignments in this course, and applies to both published sources (e.g.
books, research papers) and your data (e.g. newspaper reports, interviews). Plagiarism is seen as a

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serious violation of academic ethics and will be punished according to the regulations in force at
Brown University. Please do acknowledge your sources whenever your work has relied on the
written or spoken words or thoughts of others.
Readings: there are two required books. Other readings will be posted to Canvas.
Required readings: please purchase the following books:
1. Schutt, Russell K (ed.). 2009. Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of
Research. Sage Publications.
2. Booth, Wayne C., Colomb, Gregory G., and Williams, Joseph M., (2008) The Craft of
Research, University of Chicago Press.

COURSE SCHEDULE:
ASSIGNMENTS DUE SUNDAY BEFORE CLASS

Week 1 (Jan 29): Introduction to the course

Presentation and general administration of the course
1. How to write a successful thesis
2. Stages of research
3. Preparation for Assignment 1: Observing Social Life

Week 2 (Feb 5): Observing Social Life and Writing Field-notes

Chapter 9: Qualitative Methods; Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of
Research, edited by Russell K. Schutt.
Wolfinger, Nicholas H. 2002. On Writing Fieldnotes: Collection Strategies and Background
Expectancies. Qualitative Research, Vol. 2(1): 85-95.
Chapter 2, from Latour, Bruno and Steve Woolgar. 1979. Laboratory Life: The Social
Construciton of Scientific Facts. Sage Publications.

Week 3 (Feb12 ): Key concepts in research design: topics, questions and hypotheses
**DUE: Assignment 1 (Feb 10): Observing Social Life
1. Chapters 3 and 4 From Topics to Questions and From Questions to Problems. In Booth,
Wayne C., Colomb, Gregory G., and Williams, Joseph M., (2008) The Craft of Research,
University of Chicago Press.
2. John W. Cresswell (2009), Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed-
Methods Approaches, 3rd ed. (Sage Publications). (Read: Chapter 7, Research Questions
and Hypotheses)
3. Lee, Alexander. 2011. Who Becomes a Terrorist?: Poverty, Education, and the Origins of
Political Violence. World Politics, Vol. 63 (2): 203-245.

Week 4 (Feb 19): NO CLASS

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Week 5 (Feb 26): Key concepts in research design: indicators, variables, sampling
1. Chapter 4: Conceptualization and Measurement; Investigating the Social World: The Process
and Practice of Research, edited by Russell K. Schutt.
2. Chapter 5: Sampling; Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of
Research, edited by Russell K. Schutt.
3. David Snow et al. 2007. Framing the French Riots: A Comparative Study of Frame
Variation, Social Forces, 86(2): 385-425 (read annotated version).
4. Chapter 1 (Introduction) of thesis by Sophie Fuchs (read annotated version).

Week 6 (March 5): Conducting Interviews

**DUE: Assignment 2 (March 3): Prospectus Draft 1: Finding a Research Question
1. Chapter 8: Survey Research; Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of
Research, edited by Russell K. Schutt.
2. Kathryn Roulston, Kathleen deMarrais, Learning to Interview in the Social Sciences,
Qualitative Inquiry, Jamie B. Lewis , Vol. 9, No. 4, 643-668, 2003.
3. How-to guides
a. Watch the Youtube video on interviewing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t-
_hYjAKww&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_554130v
b. World Bank guide to semi-structured interviews:
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTSOCIALDEV/0,,
contentMDK:21234374~isCURL:Y~menuPK:3291499~pagePK:64168445~piPK
:64168309~theSitePK:3177395,00.html
c. Using unstructured interview guides in development studies:
http://www.unu.edu/Unupress/food2/UIN04E/uin04e06.htm

Week 7 (March 12): Analyzing Data: Coding

1. An Introduction to Codes and Coding. From The Coding Manual for Qualitative
Researchers, by Johnny Saldana, 2009. Sage Publications.
2. Chapter 10: Qualitative Data Analysis; Investigating the Social World: The Process and
Practice of Research, edited by Russell K. Schutt.
3. Becker, Howard. 1953. Becoming a Marijuana User. American Journal of Sociology, 59:3:
235-252.

Week 8 (March 19): Content and Document Analysis

**DUE: Assignment 3 (March 17): Interview analysis
1. Read pg. 430 onwards: Chapter 13: Secondary Data Analysis and Content Analysis;
Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research, edited by Russell
K. Schutt.
2. Keith Macdonald and Colin Tipton. 1993. Using Documents. In Researching Social Life,
edited by Nigel Fielding. Sage Publications. Pg. 187-200.
3. Read Chapters 1 and 2, annotated. Macdonald, Colleen. 2011. DS Thesis. Its a human
tragedy and these bastards who are bringing these boatpeople should be shot: Framing
people smugglers in Australian news media.
4. Weber, Robert Philip. 1990. Basic Content Analysis (2 ed.). Sage Publications. (pgs. 9-
24).

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 5. Coding Handout

Week 9 (March 26): NO CLASS - SPRING BREAK

Week 10 (April 2): Comparative analysis: case studies and comparative-historical research
1. Chapter 12: Historical and Comparative Research; Investigating the Social World: The
Process and Practice of Research, edited by Russell K. Schutt.
2. Flyvbjerg, Bent. 2006. Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research. Qualitative
Inquiry, 12: 2: 219-245.
3. Baiocchi, Gianpaolo, Patrick Heller and Marcelo Kunrath Silva. 2008. Making Space for
Civil Society: Institutional Reforms and Local Democracy in Brazil. Social Forces, Vol.
86 (3): 911-936.
4. Read chapters 1 and 2. Murphy, Joelle A. 2010. DS thesis. The nationalist neoliberalism
of your desires: The Case of Egypt.

Optional readings for comparative-historical research [if you are interested in this method]:
Riley, Dylan J. and Manali Desai. The Passive Revolutionary Route to the Modern World:
Italy and India in Comparative Perspective. 2007. Comparative Studies in Society and
History, Vol. 49(4):815847.
Mahoney, James. 2003. Long-Run Development and the Legacy of Colonialism in Spanish
America. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 109 (1): 50-106.

Week 11 (April 9): Theorizing and writing the literature review

**DUE: Assignment 4 (April 7): Content Analysis
1. Alasuutari, Pertti. 1996. Theorizing in Qualitative Research: A Cultural Studies
perspective. Qualitative Inquiry, 2(4): 371-384.
2. Chapters 5 and 6 From Problems to Sources and Using Sources. In Booth, Wayne C.,
Colomb, Gregory G., and Williams, Joseph M., (2008) The Craft of Research, University
of Chicago Press.
3. Duneier, Mitchell. 2011. How not to lie with Ethnography. Sociological Methodology,
41: 1-11.

Week 12 (April 16): Research Design and Causation

1. Chapters 1 and 2, A Model for Qualitative Research Design and Goals: Why are you
Doing this Study, in Maxwell, Joseph A. 2005. Qualitative Research Design: An
Interactive Approach. Sage Publication.
2. Chapter 6: Research Design and Causation; Investigating the Social World: The Process
and Practice of Research, edited by Russell K. Schutt.

Week 13 (April 23): Introduction to Quantitative Research

**DUE: Assignment 5 (April 21): Prospectus Draft 2
1. Chapter 14: Quantitative Data Analysis; Investigating the Social World: The Process and
Practice of Research, edited by Russell K. Schutt.

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 2. Posner, Daniel N. 2004. The Political Salience of Cultural Difference: Why Chewas and
Tumbukas Are Allies in Zambia and Adversaries in Malawi. The American Political
Science Review, Vol. 98, (4): 529-545.

Week 14 (Aprll 30): Conducting Fieldwork and research paths

1. Hertel, Shareen, Matthew M. Singer and Donna Lee Van Cott. 209. Field Research in
Developing Countries: Hitting the road running. PS: Political Science and Politics 42
(April): 30509.
2. Interview with Adam Przeworski. In Munck, Gerardo L. and Richard Snyder. 2007.
Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press, 2007.

Week 15 (May 7): Student Presentations

*DUE: Assignment 6: Final draft of prospectus May 15th