About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about some challenges and practical issues associated with qualitative research, focusing in particular on: (i) what qualitative research is, particularly in relation to quantitative research; (ii) the importance of ethnographic methods to qualitative research; (iii) some central issues, notably those linked to ethics, which arise when undertaking qualitative research; (iv) the greater difficulty in qualitative research, as compared with quantitative, of ensuring that research is rigorous, and three ways of doing this – triangulation, conducting a literature review, and reflexivity.

About the lecturer

Professor Liz Atkins is Professor of Vocational Education and Social Justice at the University of Derby. She has a broad expertise within the field of education, specialising particularly in vocational education and working with low-attaining young people, and she has also written widely on methodological issues within education research. Her publications include Education, Skills and Social Justice in a Polarising World (2022, co-author), Research Methods for Social Justice and Equity in Education (2019, co-author), and Qualitative Research in Education (2012, co-author).