Business research is often concerned with understanding individuals, the decisions they make, the goals they pursue, the practices they engage in, and the relationships they form with others, including colleagues, customers, and other stakeholders. Individuals and the organizations, communities, online groups, etc. they are part of are complex social entities, weaved together or drawn apart by values, goals, norms, practices, and rules of interaction, capable of interpreting and shaping the social world around them.

Qualitative research allows researchers to tap into, analyze and theorize the complexity of social worlds through observing and eliciting values, norms, meanings, practices, or relationships of managers, employees, consumers, and many others who participate in market exchange and consumption. 

This seminar provides doctoral and PhD students with an opportunity to engage with philosophy and key concepts of qualitative research as well as sharpen their skills in conducting such work. Participants will also learn how to critically evaluate existing qualitative research, develop research questions, design qualitative research projects, collect and analyze data, and communicate their findings in compelling ways to make impactful theoretical and practical contributions.

After completing this course, students will be able to

• demonstrate a solid understanding of the philosophy and key concepts of qualitative research,
• understand and critically discuss published qualitative work,
• design qualitative research projects to address specific research questions,
• collect and analyze qualitative data,
• discuss strategies of conveying their findings to journal reviewers and editors, and
• discuss the practical and ethical complexities of qualitative research.

Participation in the first session is mandatory. Of the other sessions, one may be missed.

The course will involve a mixture of lecturer presentations, participant presentations, interactive discussions, and practical exercises.

1) Topic Presentation & Essay: 60 points
2) Paper Discussion:                  20 points
3) Class Participation:                20 points

Details Assessment 1: Topic Presentation & Essay (60 Points)

Each participant will contribute to the class with a focused introduction of one focal theme related to qualitative research. This input will have two parts: 1) a short essay (12 pages max., Arial, 12 pt., double-spaced, including references) and 2) a 30 mins presentation (incl. discussion) of the key insights gained about the topic. Both parts jointly account for 50 points. Please submit both essay and presentation deck (if slides will be used) before the assigned presentation day.

For the essay, participants should

• review the relevant literature on the assigned topic,
• identify a relevant angle, or key dimensions, to synthesise the literature (e.g., competing definitions of the phenomenon, diverging assumptions on the nature of the phenomenon, diverging approaches to practical application)
• share examples of excellent academic application (if possible),
• use empirical examples for illustration (from the own or others scholars’ research),
• and include a reference list that serves fellow students as a point of departure if they want to know more about the topic.

For the presentation, participants should

• develop an engaging, inspiring presentation format (with our without slides). Interaction with the audience is encouraged, but given the short 30 mins presentation time, prolonged in-class exercises are discouraged.
• plan on leaving about 10 mins time for discussing the topic with their audience.

Details Assessment 2: Paper Discussion (20 Points)

The second key element of the course involves critically discussing academic top-journal publications that draw on qualitative research. To sharpen their skills in assessing published work (and learning from it for their own studies), participants will be asked to synthesize and critically review one of the assigned articles and discuss their thoughts with the class. All participants are required to read all assigned articles to allow for lively discussions and critical debate.

Details Assessment 3: Class Participation (20 Points)

Finally, participants are encouraged to actively contribute to class discussions through sharing (critical) thoughts, challenging presenters in constructive ways, and engaging in practical exercises, for example. 

Grading Scheme:      

100-90 -  1 (excellent)
  89-80 - 2 (good)
  79-70 - 3 (satisfactory)
  69-60 - 4 (sufficient)
     < 60 - 5 (fail)

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• Marius Lüdicke can be reached under: marius.luedicke@wu.ac.at

Course Materials

The articles that will be discussed in-depth as well as further reading materials will be made available via Canvas.

The Use of AI

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools such as Open AI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard or Microsoft’s AI-powered Bing for various aspects of academic research is encouraged. Participants shall keep in mind that these tools are not fully reliable yet and often return false results presented with great “confidence”. Participants in this course must declare if and how they have used AI for their assignments. Reflecting on the productive use of AI will be subject to class discussion and best practices will be shared.

Useful, state-of-the-art AI tools for different applications (including academic work) can be found here: https://theresanaiforthat.com/