Qualitative Methods Initiative

Overview

The Qualitative Methods Initiative (QMI) aims to strengthen the environment for Stanford researchers across disciplines using qualitative methods.  The initiative will benefit graduate students using qualitative methods by expanding resources dedicated to qualitative methods data gathering and analysis, by providing an interdisciplinary and cross-departmental community for those using qualitative methods throughout the university, and by exposing students to new ways to ask and answer questions.  By adding to the breadth of methodological expertise and practice at Stanford, the QMI aims to provide cutting-edge skills and knowledge for future social scientists.

Qualitative methods includes but is not limited to:

  • Ethnography and field work
  • Interviews (long-form, unstructured, structured, etc.)
  • Archival research
  • Content and text analysis
  • Observation, including participant observation

The main goals of the QMI are as follows: 

  • Establish a clear network of qualitative academic resources, including an easily accessible list of courses, faculty, and peers involved in qualitative research;
  • Develop new academic opportunities targeted at qualitative work, including full- fledged academic courses and training sessions; and
  • Improve funding opportunities, both through educating students about existing opportunities and advocating for additional funding for qualitative research.

Who is Eligible?

The initiative is designed for graduate students across all schools and departments, including but not limited to students in the School of Humanities and Sciences, the Law School, the School of Medicine, the School of Education, and the Graduate School of Business. Participating students’ interests range from hermeneutics to human-robot interaction, and their regions of study span the Americas to Africa.

Faculty, Academic Staff and Graduate Student Leaders

Faculty and Academic Staff Steering Committee: 

Steve Barley, MS&E 
Ted Glasser, Communication 
Tomás Jiménez, Sociology 
Regina Roberts, Librarian (SULAIR)
Sylvia Yanagisako, Anthropology 

Graduate Student Steering Committee: 

Jess Auerbach, Anthropology 
Daisy Chung, MS&E 
Diana Dakhallah,Graduate Student Coordinator, Sociology 
Morgan Weiland (Chair), Communication 


For further inquiries, please contact Diana Dakhallah, Graduate Student Coordinator at dd2010@stanford.edu, or Morgan Weiland, Chair of the Graduate Student Steering Committee, at mweiland@stanford.edu.