Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods in Communication
COM 597-01 MW 4:30-5:45
Fall 2009 CRN 14531
Instructor: Wei “Kitty” Luo
This course is to help both graduate and undergraduate students of communication gain a comprehensive
understanding of qualitative inquiry within communication contexts and embark on an exploration of the field’s theories, methods as well as the students’ research interests. Based on this goal, this course entails the following specific objectives: (1) to examine the philosophical assumptions, theoretical traditions and epistemology of qualitative methods in the field of communication; (2) to understand various approaches–particularly ethnographic approach, participant observation, qualitative interviewing and social text analysis—to qualitative research; (3) to critique written qualitative research articles and identify ways to improve them; (4) to develop skills and techniques to design qualitative research projects.
