Practicalities
Where: Bodø, Norway, and online
When:
Digital Workshop 1: 24th February 2026, Tuesday
Digital Workshop 2: 17th March 2026, Tuesday
Physical 3-day Workshop in Bodø: 13-15th April 2026, Monday – Wednesday
Digital Workshop 3: 11th June 2026, Thursday
Level of course: PhD
Course type: Elective
Credits: 7.5 ECTS
Maximum number of participants: 25
Teaching language: English
Teaching semester: Spring 2026
Costs: No tuition fees.
Course evaluation: Evaluation using the final survey
Registration: Deadline December 15th, 2025. Use this link: https://nettskjema.no/a/560402
Course coordinator: Einar Rasmussen (Nord)
Faculty: Lise Aaboen (NTNU), Steffen Korsgaard (SDU), Irina Isaeva (Nord), Markus Perkmann (Imperial)
Course description:
This course is aimed at PhD candidates in innovation and entrepreneurship. The course will help participants understand the benefits and challenges associated with qualitative research designs and learn specific methodologies and techniques for collecting and analyzing qualitative data. The participants will engage in sessions to learn techniques and put them into practice. This will enable the participants to develop confidence in their chosen approach and eventually apply it in their independent studies. Being offered as an advanced course, we will provide an overview of qualitative research designs and delve deeper into specific topics such as data collection techniques, case studies, process studies, coding of qualitative data, and publishing qualitative research.
This course is designed using an activity-based learning approach and will involve active participant involvement. The course will include readings from innovation and entrepreneurship journals that have applied the above approaches. The participants will also learn the nuances connected with carrying out the various steps involved in these methodologies. Individual feedback sessions will provide students with the opportunity to receive feedback from both peers and faculty. The course will also have plenary sessions with researchers who practice qualitative approaches in their research. These will be in the form of short lectures and interactive Q&A sessions. Participants will also have numerous opportunities to have informal interactions with the faculty.
Learning outcomes:
Upon successful completion of the course, participants will possess the following:
Knowledge
- Explain the role of qualitative research in innovation and entrepreneurship
- Identify commonly used approaches to conducting qualitative inquiries in innovation and entrepreneurship
- Compare different methodologies used to conduct qualitative research and the specific steps and techniques needed to apply them
- Critically evaluate and justify the use of qualitative research methods to analyze research questions in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Skills
- Critically assess and review qualitative research manuscripts, identifying strengths, limitations, and opportunities for theoretical and methodological improvement.
- Critically evaluate and synthesize diverse qualitative traditions, including epistemological foundations and methodological innovations.
- Engage in high-quality academic dialogue at both conferences and scientific journals
- Design qualitative studies and implement specific qualitative methodologies in innovation and entrepreneurship journals
- Design interview guides and protocols for qualitative studies
- Apply various analytical techniques that enhance the standard of the qualitative papers
General Competence
- Design and conduct original qualitative research that addresses complex and underexplored phenomena in innovation and entrepreneurship, contributing to theoretical advancement and/or practical insight.
- Integrate qualitative methods into interdisciplinary research, demonstrating the ability to bridge methodological traditions and contribute to innovation policy, strategy, or entrepreneurial practice.
- Demonstrate methodological reflexivity, including awareness of researcher positionality, ethical dilemmas, and the influence of context on data generation and interpretation.
- Engage in and lead academic dialogue, including peer review, editorial work, and scholarly debate, contributing to the advancement of qualitative research in innovation and entrepreneurship.
- Demonstrate ability to produce qualitative manuscripts meeting the standards of top-tier journals in innovation and entrepreneurship.
- Communicate qualitative research findings effectively, both orally and in writing, in formats suitable for peer-reviewed journals, academic conferences, and interdisciplinary audiences.
Prerequisites:
Admitted to a Ph.D. program or have the qualifications to be admitted to a Ph.D. program. Must fulfill the English language requirements or must be from approved partner institutions.
Recommended previous knowledge:
Necessary: A basic overview of research methods.
Optional: A brief overview of innovation and entrepreneurship research literature in general.
Mode of delivery:
Face-to-face and online lectures, plenary talks, hands-on exercises, group discussions, and student presentations.
Learning activities and teaching methods:
Lectures, practice sessions, seminars, and tutored assignment work.
Student workload:
The course consists of three 4-hour digital sessions and a 3-day physical workshop. There is considerable reading to do in the weeks leading up to the course, and students must prepare individually and in groups for assignments presented at the workshops. There will be a fair amount of time spent before and after the course in writing up the reflection note for the course evaluation. Overall, we expect the time spent to be no less than 200 hours, distributed as follows:
- 10 hours for pre-course assignment (900 words)
- 75 hours for reading course literature (400-500 pages)
- 35 hours for sessions (digital and physical)
- 30 hours for assignments during the course
- 50 hours for final reflection note (5000 words) to be graded pass/no pass
Assessment:
The students must actively participate in all four workshops. The following work needs to be completed to get credits:
- An extended abstract (900 words) submitted before the course
- Presentation of example articles during the course
- Submission and presentation of own research paper/proposal during the course
- Providing feedback on fellow students’ research papers/proposals during the course
The final assessment is based on the submission of an individual reflection note (maximum 5000 words). The reflection note should contain 1) a description of how your paper/proposal has developed during the course and reflections on how and why it has improved, 2) a reflection on your learning during the course, and 3) a plan for how you can further develop and refine your qualitative research methods skills. The reflection note should contain references to the course literature and will be graded pass/not pass by the faculty.
Course literature and recommended reading:
Will be provided