Support for Institutes in Qualitative Research Methods

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This project provides support for the Institute for Qualitative Research Methods(IQRM), an annual training program that provides intensive instruction in state-of-the-artmethods and technologies for qualitative research. This program, sponsored by the Consortium on Qualitative Research Methods at Arizona State University, addresses the growing interest in and debates about qualitative research methods, and provides an invaluable opportunity for discussion and collaboration among the nation's leading qualitative researchers in political science and cognate disciplines.Since 2002, IQRM has successfully filled a critical pedagogical and intellectual need. Although much political science research uses qualitative methods, these methods are not consistently taught at an advanced level even in top graduate programs. IQRM thus addresses several complementary goals. First, the annual two-week sessions train graduate students and junior faculty in qualitative methods so that they can improve the use of these methods in their own work, as well as teach graduate courses on qualitative methods at their home institutions. Second, IQRM allows faculty to present recent and ongoing work on qualitative methods and get feedback from other faculty as well as participating students. Third, the classes and discussions provide direct feedback to institute students on their current research designs (in most cases, the research design of their Ph.D. thesis). Broader Impacts: IQRM offers networking opportunities among and between students and faculty and encourages collaborative efforts to disseminate innovations inqualitative methods. To date, IQRM has taught advanced qualitative methods to nearly 200 graduate students and junior faculty drawn from across the political science subfields, as well as from several cognate disciplines. This is a diverse group. In 2004, 25% of the attendees were non-White. In the same year, 54% were women-a remarkable participation rate when compared with women's involvement in methodological programs in other venues. (For example, the American PoliticalScience Association reported on 7 April 2004 that only 19% of members of the PoliticalMethodology organized section were women.) The sessions scheduled for January 2006, 2007, and 2008, will continue to draw on a diverse pool of participants and are each expected to bring together approximately 70 graduate students and junior faculty and 15 instructors.