The Role of Studying Qualitative Research Methods in Enabling Career-Oriented Skills of University Graduates

The focus of this paper lies on gaining deeper knowledge on the role that studying qualitative research methods takes in enabling career-oriented skills of university graduates. We perform an inductive qualitative analysis of 165 reflective accounts written by master students after the completion of a qualitative research methods course. By applying Kolb’s theory of experiential learning we expand the knowledge on the how an experience-based qualitative research methods course leads to attaining career-oriented skills. Many of the skills attained by the business graduates show resemblances to skills described as important for the job-market as revealed by prior academic research. We further argue that many of the career-oriented skills that were found are co-occurring with other relevant skills according to the students’ reflective accounts. In conclusion, we found that qualitative research methods courses can be valuable for students’ development of career-relevant skills and mention a range of skills that can be developed by practicing experiential qualitative research methods.