Qualitative Research

This course is intended for Master and PhD students who intend to conduct research in the field of empirical business administration (e.g. management or organizational behavior) and related disciplines. The goal of qualitative research is to explore unknown phenomena and to further develop established theories and models or to develop new ones. Qualitative research approaches thus often play a pioneering role in the definition, delimitation and identification of potential drivers of phenomena. The knowledge gained often provides the basis for the statistical analysis of business management issues within the framework of complex research models (e.g. structural equation modelling or experiments). The course gives an overview of the basics of qualitative research. This includes the conception of a suitable research question, the transformation of the research question into a suitable qualitative-empirical research approach, as well as the subsequent interpretation of the empirical data.

Organizational details

Date: Summer semester 2020
Degree courses: Doctoral studies, Betriebswirtschaftslehre (M.Sc.) Master
Scope: 4 SWS/6 CPs
Exam: Project work
Date: tbd.
Location: Online sessions
Contact person: benedikt.schnellbaecher(at)uni-saarland.de
Registration by e-mail possible until 01.05.2020
Limited number of participants: 10

Learning objectives

After attending the module "Qualitative Research" students are able to create and evaluate qualitative-empirical research studies. First of all, the module aims to provide students with a basic understanding of the conceptualisation and operationalisation of economic issues in the context of qualitative-empirical research. Based on this, the students will learn how to independently analyse and evaluate qualitative empirical studies in an economic context.

Literature (extract)

  • Huff, A. S. 1998. Writing for Scholarly Publication. Sage.
  • Pratt, M.G. 2009. For the lack of a boilerplate: Tips on Writing up (and Reviewing) qualitative research. Academy of Management Journal, 52(5): 856-862.
  • Publishing in AMJ Part 1-7, published between 2011-2012 in Academy of Management Journal.