410.712.01
Theory and Practice in Qualitative Data Analysis and Interpretation for the Social and Behavioral Sciences
Location
East Baltimore
Term
3rd Term
Department
Health, Behavior and Society
Credit(s)
3
Academic Year
2025 - 2026
Instruction Method
In-person
M, W, 10:30 - 11:50am
Auditors Allowed
No
Available to Undergraduate
No
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Contact Name
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Resources
Prerequisite
410.710 Concepts in Qualitative Research for Social and Behavioral Sciences
Enrollment Restriction
This course is not restricted.
Prepares students to conduct advanced qualitative analysis using abductive reasoning and reflexive thematic analysis. Engages students with theoretical and methodological foundations of analysis and guides them in moving iteratively between data and theory. Emphasizes the researcher’s role, reflexivity, and social position in shaping analytic choices and interpretations. Provides hands-on experience with real-world data to develop coding frameworks, identify and refine themes, and theorize about and from qualitative evidence. Integrates qualitative data analysis software (MAXQDA) as a tool for analytic thinking rather than simply data management. Trains students to articulate, apply, and critically evaluate abductive and reflexive thematic analytic strategies in their own research.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
- Explain the principles of abductive reasoning and reflexive thematic analysis and situate them within broader qualitative analytic traditions
- Apply abductive logic to move iteratively between empirical data and theoretical concepts
- Develop and refine coding frameworks that incorporate both semantic and latent codes
- Generate and critically evaluate themes that capture shared meaning across a dataset, attending to scope, boundaries, and central organizing concepts
- Articulate the role of researcher reflexivity and social position in shaping data interpretation and analytic outcomes
- Use qualitative data analysis software (MAXQDA) to support analytic thinking, memoing, and theme development.
- Theorize from qualitative data by linking empirical findings to existing theories and developing new conceptual insights
- Evaluate the quality and rigor of abductive and reflexive thematic analyses in published research
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
- 21% Participation
- 59% Written Assignment(s)
- 20% Final Paper