Introducing Qualitative Longitudinal Research: From Design to Analysis (online)

This one-day online, interactive course will provide a practical introduction to qualitative longitudinal enquiry. The morning session will explore key design features of this methodology, including how to build time into a study, how to sample through time, how to generate temporal data, the ethics of longitudinal enquiry, and the potential to create real-time impact in policy processes. The afternoon session will focus on the intricate nature of QL analysis. The course will comprise two lectures and two interactive workshops (see below and attached programme for further details).

The course will be delivered by Bren Neale, a specialist in QL research and the author of two books on this methodology.

Course Description

 

This one-day, online course will run from 10am to 5pm.  

In the first presentation of the day, delegates will be introduced to the principles and design features of qualitative longitudinal (QL) research. The unique power of this methodology – the combination of its real-time operation and its interactive, real-world engagement - will be explored, and its application in policy/practice settings and processes will be introduced.   

In the morning workshop, delegates will work individually and in pairs to generate temporal data. They will be introduced to life mapping techniques and will have the opportunity to construct a life map and use this as the basis for life journey interviewing. 

In the second presentation of the day, delegates will be introduced to the principles and practice of QL analysis (QLA): including the tripartite logic of working across cases, themes and processes, and the abductive reasoning that underpins this strategy.        

In the afternoon workshop, delegates will brainstorm the analysis of data from the Following Young Fathers Study. They will have an opportunity to build a longitudinal case history for a young father, drawn from several waves of interviews; and to engage in cross-case comparative analysis of contrasting cases.

The course is suitable for doctoral and established researchers who are either new to this methodology or wish to refresh or enhance their research practice. Delegates will receive a course pack, comprising power point slides and data files from the Following Young Fathers Study.