Introduction to Qualitative Data Collection Methods - 6/16/2025

Includes a Live Web Event on 06/16/2025 at 3:00 PM (EDT)

This workshop is intended for physicians and generalists in medical education, as well as faculty and staff involved in student affairs, who wish to develop perspectives and skills for collecting qualitative data, such as data from focus group discussions, interviews, observation field notes, and responses to open-ended questions—used in admissions processes, program development, curriculum evaluation, needs assessments, performance evaluation, and various scholarship and research applications.

After participating in this workshop, learners will be able to:

Demonstrate applied knowledge of the appropriate selection, use, and standards for rigor of some common methods for collection of qualitative data;
Generate research questions appropriate for qualitative studies and choose appropriate data collection methods;
Demonstrate applied knowledge of approaches to achieve rigor in the design of qualitative studies and collection of qualitative data;
Demonstrate essential skills required for conducting focus groups

Recordings will be made available for viewing following the completion of each workshop. Viewing of recordings may not be substituted for participation in live workshops.

This workshop is a part of the MERC Virtual Workshop 2025 - Series 2 .

Thomas Delaney

Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Senior Faculty Advisor in the Division of Public Health at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine

Dr. Tom Delaney is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Senior Faculty Advisor in the Division of Public Health at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine. He is the Director of the Four Pines Fellowship, a Foundation-level combined research and clinical learning experience focused on mental health and suicide prevention. He earned his BA from Rutgers University and MA and PhD from the University of Denver in Psychology with a focus on research and experimental methods. He has developed and taught courses across medical and other graduate health care programs in areas including biostatics, research methods, public health, and mental health. He is the Course Director for Culminating Project Experience in which students work in small teams to design, conduct and report on a public health research project. In 2020 he was recognized as an Expert Educator by the Teaching Academy at the University of Vermont and has been a member of the Medical Education Research Certificate (MERC) Steering Committee since 2023.