Purpose

The purpose of the workshop is to (1) articulate the standards used in Cultural Anthropology, Political Science, Sociology, and Law and Social Sciences for rigor in qualitative methods across the range of methodological techniques (e.g., ethnography, historical and comparative analysis, textual analysis, focus groups, archival and oral history, observational studies, interpretation of images and cultural materials, and unstructured interviews); (2) identify common criteria that can be shared across the different disciplines for designing and evaluating research proposals and fostering multidisciplinary collaborations; and (3) develop a research agenda for strengthening the tools, training, data, research design, and infrastructure for research using qualitative approaches.

Topics for Discussion

•  What are the standards of rigor in your discipline?

•  How might these standards of rigor be communicated to or applied in other disciplines (i.e., common criteria for designing an evaluating research)? What are major areas of divergence between your own discipline and other social science disciplines? How might these be addressed?

•  What areas or topics are most promising for investigations using qualitative methods?

•  What are the most pressing issues of research design and methods facing qualitative researcher projects? Any suggestions for solutions?

•  What areas of promising qualitative research are most likely to foster multidisciplinary projects?

•  What is needed to strengthen tools, training, data, research design, and infrastructure for conducting qualitative research?

•  What single advance in qualitative research methods or approach would contribute most to strengthening qualitative research?