"Every Word is True": Stories of our Experiences in a Qualitative Research Course

Authors

Janet C. Richards, University of South FloridaFollow

Abstract

There is a sparse body of literature about students' and instructors' experiences in graduate qualitative courses. In this study, 11 doctoral students and one instructor employed a narrative framework to uncover our perceived truths about our experiences as we interacted, studied, pondered, and journeyed through a qualitative research methods course. Data were my chronologically ordered notes documenting my thinking and perceptions about my students and me and the doctoral students' chronologically ordered e-mail stories to their peers and to me. The inquiry illuminated the doctoral students' growth as researchers and highlighted the power of shared stories. Our narratives captured our lives, and illuminated our joys, worries, intentions, and beliefs.

Keywords

Introductory Qualitative Research Methods Course, Narrative Inquiry, and Shared Stories as Truth

Acknowledgements

All student names and collegial respondents in this inquiry are pseudonyms. I wish to thank the 11 doctoral students who participated in this work. In the telling of their stories they demonstrated courage, caring, candor, and compassion. I will always remember them.

Publication Date

5-1-2011

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2011.1088

Recommended APA Citation

Richards, J. C. (2011). "Every Word is True": Stories of our Experiences in a Qualitative Research Course. The Qualitative Report, 16(3), 782-819. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2011.1088