“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand”.   Confucius 551-479 BC

There is NO SUBSTITUTE for face to face training in qualitative research skills.  If you want to do qualitative interviewing, book yourself on a course, get one organised in-house, or have a mentor give you coaching and feedback.   You can have all the techniques and technical knowledge and still be a terrible interviewer. Its not just about knowing, its about being.  

In-house training  

Courses are tailored to the exact requirements of the delegates, but even so, there are a couple of common formats. The most popular is the One Day Moderating Training Plan while the Two Day Training for Mixed Levels works well to bring in relative newcomers and bring on people with more experience but little formal training.  If you are developing a more structured training experience, here are some suggestions for Face to face training at Introductory & Intermediate levels.  

(Mouseover to click and download the plans).

Also very popular is the Workshop Course – Day Plan. Originally developed with Mike Imms, this teaches workshop skills and processes in a workshop environment, so you experience a workshop as you are learning about one.  It can be delivered to any number of people – 6 is the minimum, but numbers can go up to 16, 24 or even 50 – although the number of trainers has to increase as delegate numbers rise so that everyone can get enough feedback. It comes with a whopping 100 page resource book (nowadays delivered electronically to save a small forest) which has enough tools and techniques to keep you going for years of workshopping.

If you are more likely to be doing social research, NatCen have a programme of open courses in both qual and quant methods.

Association of Qualitative Research  Events and training courses

Five Fridays Foundation Course
Five steps to know how and confidence; the Five Fridays Foundation Course

Date: 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 March 2012  (Joanna is giving the interviewing Skills Session on 2nd March)
Venue: Spectrum, 25 Gloucester Place London W1U 8HT
Admission: Limited to 24 delegates

 AQR/QRCA Worldwide Conference
The world’s leading global Qualitative Research event returns. The AQR and QRCA, the two largest and longest established associations for qualitative researchers, invite you to contribute to this exciting event. We welcome innovative and insightful proposals that will challenge thinking. Deadline for synopses submissions 30 November 2011

Date: 25th 26th and 27th April 2012
Venue: Rome, Italy
Organised by: AQR/QRCA Joint International Conferences

24th and 25th May 2012  Moderating Skills Workshop

A 2-day intense workshop marrying theory with hands on practice, moderating experience, tutor support and feedback, plus a live group demonstration.

  Market Research Society    Training

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