EUN692 Qualitative Research in Education
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | EUN692 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite(s): | EUN691. EUN691 can be enrolled in the same teaching period as EUN692. |
| Equivalent(s): | EUZ692 |
| Assumed Knowledge: | It is assumed that students understand educational practices in education settings and have practitioner experiences within a related education field or support profession. |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
| CSP student contribution | $592 |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $3,468 |
| International unit fee | $4,740 |
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2026, Kelvin Grove, Internal
| Unit code: | EUN692 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | EUN691. EUN691 can be enrolled in the same teaching period as EUN692. |
| Equivalent: | EUZ692 |
| Assumed Knowledge: | It is assumed that students understand educational practices in education settings and have practitioner experiences within a related education field or support profession. |
| Coordinator: | Hitendra Pillay | h.pillay@qut.edu.au |
Overview
The unit offers you the opportunity to study, explore and understand a range of qualitative research methodologies and methods used in education research, such as case study and ethnography. In so doing, the unit exposes you to a knowledge base appropriate for practitioners and post graduate qualitative researchers. You will build capacity in qualitative approaches to educational research. You will begin by exploring how these approaches enable researchers to study practices in specific contexts, and to see patterns between people and systems. You will explore examples of how each approach can be used to critique or inform policy, engage in social transformation efforts, and provide insightful evaluations. You will learn about specific methods and techniques, and how research data is collected and used in different settings. You will consider the affordances of each approach through examining the contributions you could make by engaging with these research approaches.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Conduct ethical qualitative research related to educational issues.
- Discuss and synthesise scholarly literature and theories about qualitative research methodologies related to professional educational practice and research.
- Design and justify qualitative research data collection and analysis.
- Reflect on and reflexively analyse qualitative research practices to improve professional knowledge and practice.
- Analyse qualitative research data and interpret the results in relation to educational contexts and research problems.
Content
The unit will cover the following:
- qualitative research design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, writing and publication processes.
- identifying quality education research, and developing search strategies for finding appropriate research in education, including through the use of Generative AI.
- practical skills for carrying out qualitative research projects, and how these skills and approaches relate to professional contexts.
- examples from a range of education research traditions to give insight into the diversity of approaches available in qualitative research.
- data collection and analysis in qualitative research, including conducting interviews and analysing data
- key principles of ethical qualitative research, and implications for educational research
Learning Approaches
In this unit you will learn through engaging in the following:
- pre-recorded online videos
- tutorials (online and on-campus)
- online learning activities
- readings
- authentic assessment tasks in which you will apply scholarly knowledge to real world scenarios and in your own context.
This unit employs interactive and discussion-based learning and critical reflection on the intersection of theory and experience.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Feedback in this unit is provided to you in the following ways:
- a range of formative exercises discussed and undertaken throughout the unit
- feedback from peers as you investigate and discuss issues raised throughout the unit
- comments about summative assessment work included with your grade.
Assessment
Overview
There are two assessments in this unit:
1. Design and conduct an interview - this assessment task focuses on practicing the process of data collection in qualitative research, with a particular emphasis on how interviews are designed and conducted in line with methodological choices.
2. Data analysis and interpretation - The focus in this task is learning how to analyse and interpret qualitative data and present findings.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Design and conduct an interview
You will design and conduct a qualitative interview on an approved research problem, and that follows ethical research principles. The research design will be supported by a rationale drawing on theory and scholarly literature. On completion of the interview you will reflect on your research decisions, interview skills and the process experienced, including how the use of an interview for a case study or ethnography. You will include the possible role your own knowledge and biases played in the design and conduct of the interview. You will reflect on research ethics, and identify how you might improve your skills and the interview process for the future. You will record yourself presenting the methodological designs you made, including research design and rationale, interview protocol and reflection. The recording will be submitted along with the video interview source and interview transcript in an appendix.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Data analysis and interpretation
You will analyse the qualitative data collected in Assignment 1 and interpret the results drawing on relevant literature. You will reflect on your learnings about data collection and analysis in qualitative research. You will discuss your research process, including research ethics and the possible influence of your personal biases. You will submit the coding scheme (or equivalent), a summary of you analysis and interpretations, and your reflections.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
There are no resources that are required to be purchased for this unit. Resources will be available in the unit's Canvas site.
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with the general conduct of this unit.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.EU74 Master of Education
- Discuss, evaluate, and integrate advanced discipline-specific knowledge related to professional educational practice and research.
Relates to: ULO2, Design and conduct an interview - Reflect on and reflexively analyse own practice, integrating theoretical frameworks to improve professional knowledge and practice.
Relates to: ULO4, Data analysis and interpretation - Design and justify innovative solutions to authentic problems of educational practice, drawing on discipline-specific knowledge and skills to lead and influence positive change.
Relates to: ULO3, Design and conduct an interview, Data analysis and interpretation - Apply theories and research methods to ethically explore educational issues/phenomena and practices.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO5, Design and conduct an interview, Data analysis and interpretation
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2026, Online
| Unit code: | EUN692 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | EUN691. EUN691 can be enrolled in the same teaching period as EUN692. |
| Equivalent: | EUZ692 |
| Assumed Knowledge: | It is assumed that students understand educational practices in education settings and have practitioner experiences within a related education field or support profession. |
Overview
The unit offers you the opportunity to study, explore and understand a range of qualitative research methodologies and methods used in education research, such as case study and ethnography. In so doing, the unit exposes you to a knowledge base appropriate for practitioners and post graduate qualitative researchers. You will build capacity in qualitative approaches to educational research. You will begin by exploring how these approaches enable researchers to study practices in specific contexts, and to see patterns between people and systems. You will explore examples of how each approach can be used to critique or inform policy, engage in social transformation efforts, and provide insightful evaluations. You will learn about specific methods and techniques, and how research data is collected and used in different settings. You will consider the affordances of each approach through examining the contributions you could make by engaging with these research approaches.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Conduct ethical qualitative research related to educational issues.
- Discuss and synthesise scholarly literature and theories about qualitative research methodologies related to professional educational practice and research.
- Design and justify qualitative research data collection and analysis.
- Reflect on and reflexively analyse qualitative research practices to improve professional knowledge and practice.
- Analyse qualitative research data and interpret the results in relation to educational contexts and research problems.
Content
The unit will cover the following:
- qualitative research design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, writing and publication processes.
- identifying quality education research, and developing search strategies for finding appropriate research in education, including through the use of Generative AI.
- practical skills for carrying out qualitative research projects, and how these skills and approaches relate to professional contexts.
- examples from a range of education research traditions to give insight into the diversity of approaches available in qualitative research.
- data collection and analysis in qualitative research, including conducting interviews and analysing data
- key principles of ethical qualitative research, and implications for educational research
Learning Approaches
In this unit you will learn through engaging in the following:
- pre-recorded online videos
- tutorials (online and on-campus)
- online learning activities
- readings
- authentic assessment tasks in which you will apply scholarly knowledge to real world scenarios and in your own context.
This unit employs interactive and discussion-based learning and critical reflection on the intersection of theory and experience.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Feedback in this unit is provided to you in the following ways:
- a range of formative exercises discussed and undertaken throughout the unit
- feedback from peers as you investigate and discuss issues raised throughout the unit
- comments about summative assessment work included with your grade.
Assessment
Overview
There are two assessments in this unit:
1. Design and conduct an interview - this assessment task focuses on practicing the process of data collection in qualitative research, with a particular emphasis on how interviews are designed and conducted in line with methodological choices.
2. Data analysis and interpretation - The focus in this task is learning how to analyse and interpret qualitative data and present findings.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Design and conduct an interview
You will design and conduct a qualitative interview on an approved research problem, and that follows ethical research principles. The research design will be supported by a rationale drawing on theory and scholarly literature. On completion of the interview you will reflect on your research decisions, interview skills and the process experienced, including how the use of an interview for a case study or ethnography. You will include the possible role your own knowledge and biases played in the design and conduct of the interview. You will reflect on research ethics, and identify how you might improve your skills and the interview process for the future. You will record yourself presenting the methodological designs you made, including research design and rationale, interview protocol and reflection. The recording will be submitted along with the video interview source and interview transcript in an appendix.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Data analysis and interpretation
You will analyse the qualitative data collected in Assignment 1 and interpret the results drawing on relevant literature. You will reflect on your learnings about data collection and analysis in qualitative research. You will discuss your research process, including research ethics and the possible influence of your personal biases. You will submit the coding scheme (or equivalent), a summary of you analysis and interpretations, and your reflections.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
There are no resources that are required to be purchased for this unit. Resources will be available in the unit's Canvas site.
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with the general conduct of this unit.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.EU74 Master of Education
- Discuss, evaluate, and integrate advanced discipline-specific knowledge related to professional educational practice and research.
Relates to: ULO2, Design and conduct an interview - Reflect on and reflexively analyse own practice, integrating theoretical frameworks to improve professional knowledge and practice.
Relates to: ULO4, Data analysis and interpretation - Design and justify innovative solutions to authentic problems of educational practice, drawing on discipline-specific knowledge and skills to lead and influence positive change.
Relates to: ULO3, Design and conduct an interview, Data analysis and interpretation - Apply theories and research methods to ethically explore educational issues/phenomena and practices.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO5, Design and conduct an interview, Data analysis and interpretation