Application deadline

Type of course

Admission requirements

To take PhD courses you need at a minimum a master’s degree or equivalent, or admission to a Medical Student Research Program.

For information about how to apply for admission, go to: http://uit.no/helsefak/forskning/phd/emner

Course content

The course will undertake problems associated with the use of qualitative research methods within mental health care. The course will include different methodological approaches and will address various ethical dilemmas and challenges associated with research in mental health.

The course is organized as a workshop with both lectures and discussion/presentation of ongoing work. The course will be conducted during two separate weeks (one in the autumn and one in the spring). The themes of the lectureswill be

a. Qualitative methods to describe experiences with mental health and treatment

b. A theoretical approach to analyze qualitative data

c. The research process with an emphasis on data collection, analysis and methodology

d. User-involved research

The discussion part is supposed to be an oppurtunity for students to present ongoing work and get feedback from fellow students, supervisors and course leaders through the following discussions.

Objectives of the course

• Describe and analyze how psychological problems are experienced, expressed and understood within different cultural situations, as well as consider expectations that individuals and groups have to health care and institutions in different contexts.

• Evaluate the significance of adaptation mechanisms between the patient and the therapist and also the researcher and participant.

• Consider the development within user involved research in terms of recognized scientific methods and ethical norms.

• Evaluate the value of different methods and designs that are employed within research on mental health.

• Being able to plan and develop a project proposal for a clinical

Language of instruction and examination

Teaching methods

Assessment

Assigments:

Mandatory attendance to 80% of classes

Examination and evaluation:

The exam is a self-elected task where the student presents for discussion a thematic area that is connected to their own doctoral project. Approved participation also includes being peer review for a fellow student.

Typical texts for presentations can be a project proposal, draft paper for article, conference contribution or other suitable text that is preapproved by course leader.

The exam is graded as passed/ not passed

Examination language: English/Norwegian

Re-sit exam:

In the event of failing there is an opportunity to improve the project description and submit a new one within the following two semesters as part of attendance and participation.

Recommended reading/syllabus

Arthur W Frank (2010). Letting Stories Breathe: A Socio- Narratology, University of Chicago Press, kap 2-4. (67 sider)

Arthur W Frank (1997). The Wounded Storyteller: Body, Illness, and Ethics, University of Chicago Press, kap 3-6. (84 sider).

Askheim, Ole Petter, & Borg, Marit. (2010). Deltagerbasert forskning i psykisk helsearbeid ¿ et bidrag til mer «brukbar» kunnskap? Tidsskrift for psykisk helsearbeid, 7(2), 100-109. (9s)

Borg, M., Karlsson, B., Kim, H., & McCormack, B. (2012). Opening up for Many Voices in Knowledge Construction. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 13(1). (16s)

Borg, M., karlsson, Bengt, & Hesook, Suzie Kim (2010). Double helix of research and practice*developing a practice model for crisis resolution and home treatment through participatory action research. Int J Qualitative Stud Health Well-being, 5, 4647 - DOI: 10.3402/qhw.v5i1.4647 (8s)

Charmaz K (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis, Sage publ, kapittel 3-6. (90 sider)

Finlay, L and Evans, K (2009) Relational-centred research for psychotherapists: Exploring meanings and experience, Wiley-Blackwell. (Part 1: 68 s)

Riessmann C (2007). Narrative Methods for the Human Sciences, Sage publications, kapittel 3-6 (130 sider)

Starks H & Trinidad SB (2007). Choose Your Method: A Comparison of Phenomenology, Discourse Analysis, and Grounded Theory, Qual Health Res vol. 17 no. 10 1372-1380 (8 sider)

Lorem GF (2007). Making sense of stories: the use of patient narratives within mental health care research, Nursing philosophy, 9(1), 62-71 (9 sider)

Janice M Morse, Linda Niehaus, Ruth R Wolfe & Seanne Wilkins (2006): The role of the theoretical drive in maintaining validity in mixed-method research, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3:4, 279-291

Svenaues F (2000). The body uncanny - Further steps towards a phenomenology of illness, Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 3 (2), 125-137 (12 sider)

Fuchs T (2007). The Temporal Structure of Intentionality and Its Disturbance in Schizophrenia, Psychopathology;40:229–235 (6 sider)

Marie Karlsson (2012): Emotional identification with teacher identities in student teachers¿ narrative interaction, European Journal of Teacher Education, DOI:10.1080/02619768.2012.686994 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2012.686994)

Marie Karlsson and Ann-Carita Evaldsson (2011). `It was Emma¿s army who bullied that girl¿ A narrative perspective on bullying and identity making in three girls¿ friendship groups. Narrative Inquiry 21:1 (2011), 24¿43.

Lorem GF & Hem MH (2011). Attuned understanding and psychotic suffering: A qualitative study of health-care professionals' experiences in communicating and interacting with patients. Int J Ment Health Nurs. 21(2):114-122 (8 sider)

Nasjonal etisk komité for medisinsk og helsefaglig forskning (2009). Veiledning for forskningsetisk og vitenskapelig vurdering av kvalitative forskingsprosjekt innen medisin og helsefag, 36 sider.

Hem MH, Heggen, K, Ruyter, KW (2008). Creating trust in an acute psychiatric ward. Nursing Ethics 15: 777-788.

Oeye C, Bjelland, AK & Skorpen A (2007). Doing participant observation in a psychiatric hospital – Research ethics resumed. Social Science & Medicine, 65, 2296-2306.

Helman Cecil G (2007). Culture Health and Illness. Hodder Arnold, kap. 4, 5, 10, 11, 15 (154s)

This totals 645 pages. The curriculum will be supplemented with reading recommended by the lecturers (totaling 155 pages over the 4 seminars). Total number of pages: 800.