Qualitative Research Coursera

Overview

The course defines qualitative research and explains how it differs from quantitative research. It explores various qualitative research methods and evaluates when and how to apply them in a research project.

It then focuses on designing qualitative research instruments for interviews or focus groups, including planning recruitment efforts, developing interview questions and prompts, and creating moderator guides and screening questionnaires for participant selection.

Key Facts

The course covers participant recruitment strategies for focus groups, along with techniques to ensure engagement and participation. It introduces moderation approaches for handling different situations, probing responses, facilitating discussions, collecting qualitative data effectively, and maintaining the flow of conversation. 

Finally, the course addresses the organization and analysis of collected data, including transcription of audio from interviews or focus groups, interpretation of notes, and preparation of reports for stakeholders. 

It also examines how qualitative findings can be integrated with quantitative research. 

The Qualitative Research course offered by Coursera in partnership with UC Davis can be taken as a standalone course or as part of the Market Research Specialization. Prior knowledge equivalent to completion of the course Research Report: Initiating Research is recommended, and completing this second course in the specialization helps develop the skills needed to progress successfully through the full program.