Qualitative and quantitative methods
Specification of contents and design
Length and disposition of the tasks
• Two separate tasks, one quantitative method and one qualitative method.
• Both tasks should be maximum 10 pages,
• Write a separate introduction for each of the tasks, and since both tasks have the same topic you need to describe the common topic in both introductions.
Common for both tasks
• Choose topic and design the thesis statement with basis in the chosen topic. The same topic should be explored both quantitative and qualitative, but it does not need to be the exact same thesis statement/research questions. It would be natural for a qualitative project to focus on other aspects than a quantitative project.
• The project need to be designed to be completed independently.
The quantitative task
• Choose one of the topics that are highlighted “Levekårsundersøkelsen for Nordland 2014”, it is this dataset that will be used for the analysis. There are many topics to choose from : Political activity, worklife, leisure activities, social network/family, local society, well-being etc. Concretize the topic to a researchable thesis and formulate some concrete research questions that can either be formulated as questions or as assertions.
• The thesis statement/research questions does not need to reflect a regional issue, even though the dataset is from Nordland County.
• Choose variables you want to use in the analysis. Pick one or two effect variables, and some explanatory variables you can use to analyze variation in the effect variables. Think through what explanatory variables that can help with explaining. F.ex. is it reasonable to expect a difference between sex, age or rich-poor?
• Boxmodel or two that shows how you think the coherence between the variables are.
• Try to choose variables on different levels, so you show different statistical analysis.
• Discuss how you perceive the validity between your theoretical term and the concrete questions that are asked in the question form.
• Carry out the statistical analysis and present the results in text and tables. Use both uni-variate, bi-variate and multivariate analysis . Execute significance tests of the analysis. Present and interpret these tests. Only use the most important from the tables in the text, and put the ones that aren’t interpreted in text, as attachments
• Discuss if the analysis has answered the research questions
• Use method curriculum actively when discussing choices made.
The qualitative task
• Formulate a limited thesis statement with base in the same topic as for the quantitative task
• Make an interview guide
• Create information writing in coherence with the demands for information in the personal data act.
• Recruit participants
• Datacollection
• Transcribe the interviews
• Present the findings
• Discuss if and how your findings from your study and the analysis of these can contribute to answer the thesis statement.
• Discuss the different choices you have made, from the working on the thesis statement, the design of the interview guide, carrying out the interviews and analysis. Also include discussions of what you eventually would have done different if you were to do it again.
• Use method curriculum in the discussion
Attachments that are required
The quantitive task
• Tables/analysis that you don’t wish to use directly in the text
The qualitative task
• Information writing
• Interview guide
• Section of coding schematics with transcribed text from the interviews and coding