Methods of Qualitative Textual Analysis
Workshop, organized by Daniel Kremers and Serena Tolino
07./08.05.2010
Übersicht
Proposal
One of the common elements between different fields of humanities is the use of textual sources, a characteristic that unit us as colleagues of the Graduate School. Beyond the imagined and geographical borders of the disciplines and areas we are engaged in our research we all deal with textual sources that are the common ground of our very different disciplines. These sources might be as diverse as ancient scriptures, legal paragraphs, internet-blogs, or archival documents. However, common to them is that before we have to conclude proper interpretations from these texts, they have to be structured and undergo qualitative analysis.
Text interpretation is always the last step of qualitative text-analysis, and should be influenced by our disciplinary background, our theoretical framework, and our research question. This workshop however wants to focus on the steps that come before that, and within this highlight the importance of scrutiny, show the difficulties and dangers in dealing with texts, and make its participants sensible to delicate issues as indexicality, referentiality or inter-subjectivity.
Outline
The workshop will be structured into two main parts. In the first part Dr. Dominique Schirmer, form the department of sociology of Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg will give a didactical introduction and will lead the participants into the practical aspects of it. Participants will be asked to provide materials from their sources in order to maximize their benefit from the workshop. In the second part case studies will be presented. The speakers will highlight how their research question and their findings have been related to their methodological approach, which challenges they faced during research and field work, and how this again had an effect on their methodology. As presenters of case studies and field research experience we have invited Dr. Daniele Cantini (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and associated researcher at Cedej, Cairo) and Dr. Anja Osiander (Freie Universität Berlin).
Further Information on the Lecturers
Dr. Daniele Cantini (Social and Political Anthropology of the Middle East)
Dr. Anja Osiander (Political Science/Japan Studies):
- http://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/oas/japanologie/institut/mitarbeiter/wiss_mitarbeiter/osiander/index.html
Dr. Dominique Schirmer (Sociology/China Studies)
- http://www.soziologie.uni-freiburg.de/Personen/schirmer/
- http://www.iqs-forschung.de/
- http://www.qsc-china.com/
- http://www.methodenberatung.com/
Schedule
7th May 2010
Venue: Universitätsplatz, Burse zur Tulpe, Musikzimmer
| 2 - 2.45 pm | Opening and Introduction by Dominique Schirmer |
| 2 - 3.45 pm | Dominique Schirmer: Basic questions in projects: aims and material of research & basic working techniques |
| 3.45 - 4 pm | Coffee Break |
| 4 - 5.45 pm | Dominique Schirmer: Analysis 1.) Content analysis as a method of triangulating material and techniques 2.) Hermeneutically analysing qualitative data – some helpful techniques |
| 5.45 - 6 pm | Coffee Break |
| 6 - 7 pm | Anja Osiander: In search of the ‘kokutai’ (national polity) – Les-sons from a project on political semantics in Japan |
| 7 - 7.30 pm | Plenary Session |
| 8 pm --- | Dinner or BBQ |
8th May 2010
Venue: Mühlweg 15, Oriental Institute
| 9 - 9.15 am | Reception |
| 9.15 - 10.30 am | First Working Groups Session |
| 10.30 - 10.45 am | Coffee break |
| 10.45 am - 12 pm | Second Working Groups Session |
| 12 - 1 pm | Lunch |
| 1 - 2 pm | Daniele Cantini: Anthropology and the Text: notes from the field of Egypt |
| 2 - 2.30 pm | Plenary Session |
Workshop Report
Workshop Report by Serena Tolino
Workshop Report 7th-8th May 2010_Serena Tolino.pdf
(179,7 KB) vom 16.05.2011