• EDRS 812: Qualitative Methods in Educational Research
• Semester: Spring 2006
• Professor: Dr. Joseph Maxwell
• Syllabus

• Observation Exercise
• HSRB Approval Form
• Idea Memo
• Researcher Identity Memo
• Research Relationship and Data Collection: Guidelines • Memo
• Data Analysis and Conclusions: Guidelines • Memo (Dixie graded) • Memo (Maxwell graded)
• Final Project Report
• Transcriptions: Interview # 1 • Interview # 2 • Interview # 3

• Glesne, C. (2006). Becoming Qualitative Researchers: An Introduction (3rd ed.).
          Longman.
• Weiss, R. (1994). Learning From Strangers: The Art and Method of Qualitative
          Interview Studies. Free Press.
• Emerson, R.; Fretz, R.; & Shaw, L. (1995). Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes.
          University of Chicago Press.
• Maxwell, J. (2005). Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach (2nd
          ed.). Sage Publications.
• Howard S. Becker, H. (1986). Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and
          Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article. University of Chicago Press.
• Maxwell Course Notes

• American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the
          American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
• Becker, H. (1970). Sociological Work: Method and Substance. Transaction
          Books.
• Bogdan, R. & Biklen, S. (2003). Qualitative Research for Education: An
          Introduction to Theory and Methods (4th ed.). Allyn and Bacon.
• Coffey, A. & Atkinson, P. (1996). Making Sense of Qualitative Data. Sage.
• Denzin, N. & Lincoln, Y. (2005) (Ed.) Handbook of Qualitative Research
          (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
• Dexter, L. (1970). Elite and Specialized Interviewing. Northwestern University
          Press.
• Eco, U. (1992). Interpretation and Overinterpretation. Cambridge University
          Press.
• Glaser, B. & Strauss, A. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies
          for Qualitative Research. Aldine.
• Graue, M. & Daniel Walsh, D. (1998). Studying Children in Context: Theories,
          Methods, and Ethics. Sage Publications.
• Green, J. & Wallat, C. (1981) (Ed.) Ethnography and Language in Educational
          Settings. Ablex.
• Hammersley, M. & Atkinson, P. (1995). Ethnography: Principles in Practice
          (2nd ed.). Routledge.
• Lamott, A. (1994). Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.
          Doubleday.
• Lofland,J.; Snow, D.; Anderson, L.; & Lofland, H. (2006). Analyzing Social
          Settings (4th ed.). Wadsworth.
• Maruyama, G. & Deno, S. (1992). Research in Educational Settings. Sage.
• Maxwell, J. (n.d.) "Gaining Acceptance from Participants, Clients, and
          Policy-makers for Qualitative Research", in D. Fetterman (Ed.), Speaking
          the Language of Power.
• McCall, G. & Simmons, J. (1969). Issues in Participant Observation: A Text and
          Reader. Random House.
• Mills, C. (1959). The Sociological Imagination. Oxford University Press.
• Miles, M. & Huberman, A. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded
          Sourcebook. Sage.
• Patton, M. (2000). Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods (3rd ed.). Sage.
• Punch, M. (1986). The Politics and Ethics of Fieldwork. Sage.
• Schram, T. (2003). Conceptualizing Qualitative Inquiry: Mindwork for Fieldwork
          in Education and the Social Sciences. Merrill Prentice Hall.
• Seidman, I. (2005). Interviewing as Qualitative Research (3rd ed.).
          Teachers College Press.
• Wax, R. (1971). Doing Fieldwork: Warnings and Advice. University of
          Chicago Press.
• Wolcott, H. (n.d.). Writing Up Qualitative Research (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
• Whyte, W. (1984). Learning from the Field: A Guide from Experience. Sage.

        As expected, with Dr. Maxwell teaching this course, I had to brace for a lot of reading and writing.   Looking back at my experiences and struggles in conducting my very first qualitative research project in this course, I can definitely say that I learned many things about qualitative research in general and about myself as a potential qualitative researcher in particular.  Contrary to my initial beliefs and expectations, I found qualitative research much harder, time consuming, and demanding.  Every step, be it developing an interview guide, selecting participants, establishing research relationships, conducting interviews, transcribing the interviews, data analysis, writing the research report, or addressing potential validity threats required much more thinking, hard work, organization, and persistence.

        After dumping the topic I had pursued for several prior research activities during the earlier coursework about the CSR model selection, I have been trying for quite some time to decide which research topic, among the few I have been considering, to pursue for my final dissertation research.   However, it was during this course, I managed to pick one.  I had to decide about a topic very early on for the final qualitative pilot study.  This course, in essence, forced me to pick a topic which I could use for my final dissertation.  I did not want to miss the opportunity of using this qualitative pilot study project to further my final research agenda.  For the final pilot study project, I interviewed three Muslim adolescents (two male and one female), who attended K-8 Islamic schools in U.S., who chose to maintain the "Islamic identity" nurtured in the Islamic schools, and went to public high schools for their further schooling.  I looked into the integration challenges they encountered during their transition just because they wanted to keep their "Islamic identity." In essence, this course offered me the opportunity to both narrow down the topic I want to study further for my final research and conduct a pilot study on the topic.

        [Click here] to see the list of competencies achieved in this course.