Integrating the Complete Research Project into a Large Qualitative Methods Course

Abstract

Participatory exercises are standard practice in qualitative methods courses; less common are projects that engage students in the entire research process, from research design to write-up. Although the teaching literature provides several models of com plete research projects, their feasibility, and appropriateness for large, compulsory, sin gle-semester methods courses has not been well established. Nor has much been written on how instructors are navigating the re quirement at many institutions that course based research undergo human-subjects ethics review. Here we describe how a high-enrollment qualitative methods course integrates a complete research project on student life and the transition to university. Students in this course of more than 100