CRP 386
Qualitative Methods for Planners

Instructor: Elizabeth Mueller, Ph.D.

Course Description:

Local planning issues are often not easily analyzed using secondary data such as the decennial census. Often, planners must gather and make sense of their own primary data. In this work, they draw primarily from a range of conceptual and analytic tools that are commonly labeled "qualitative." In this course we will focus on designing research strategies appropriate to planning issues, and on mastery of the various techniques available for gathering and analyzing qualitative information. Topics covered, in addition to research design, will include: designing a research strategy, survey design and administration, interviewing techniques, participant observation and ethnography, focus group analysis, observation techniques, and case study analysis. Through course assignments, students will work through the steps involved in designing research, in designing survey instruments, interview protocols and other tools for gathering qualitative data, and in using these techniques in the field. Finally, they will gain experience analyzing qualitative data. [Students planning their professional report or dissertation research may use this course to design a strategy appropriate to their interests.]