Visual presentation of qualitative data
Registration deadline: 22 May
Organizer and Lecturer: Christian Østergaard Madsen
Dates of the course: Week 25 (Monday June 15th, Tuesday June 16th, Wednesday June 17th)
Time: Monday 9 - 16, Wednesday 9 – 15. Self-study Tuesday.
Room: 2A08, and 5A01 for self-study
Course description:
There are many books and articles that explain how to plan and conduct qualitative studies. Similarly, there is plenty of material that explains how to code, analyze and validate qualitative data. However, less attention has been devoted to how scholars can present their qualitative data in research publications and Ph.D. theses. This is a pity, because good visual presentations of qualitative data serve several purposes. First, they make papers more enjoyable and easier to understand. Tables, figures, drawings, and conceptual maps can liven up material, and break up long passages (walls) of text. Second, visualizations can add richness and convey information that may be difficult to express in words alone. Third, they can also maintain the anonymity of research participants in case of sensitive material. Finally, creating visual presentations can also be part of the analytical process itself and help scholars identify key concepts and relationships in their data.
In short, understanding and having practical experience with visual presentations can help researchers analyse their data, get published, and disseminate their results to a wider audience.
The course covers visual presentations from theoretical and practical perspectives. We will explore different ways of presenting qualitative data visually and discuss the purpose and consequences of these different forms of representation. Participants will gain insight into the purpose of qualitative studies and the role of theory and concepts in the research process. Through class lessons, examples, and discussions, participants will be introduced to various forms of visual presentations such as tables and displays, conceptual maps, process models, illustrated narratives and other types of drawings. Participants will gain practical experience with different forms of representation by applying them to their own data. Finally, participants will gain experiences on presenting their work and receiving feedback, as well as assessing and providing feedback on the work of others.
The course takes place over three days. Day one consists of lessons, group discussions and short exercises. The second day of the course is reserved for self-study. Here, the participants will apply the presented techniques on their own qualitative data. On the third day, the participants will present their visualizations and receive constructive criticism.
Exam and learning goals:
Through the presentations and discussions, the participants must demonstrate the ability to:
- Explain the purpose of qualitative studies, and the role theory and concepts play therein.
- Develop and present a visual presentation of qualitative data and argue for the selected representational form.
- Assess and evaluate visual presentations of qualitative data and offer constructive criticism to the work of others.
The students will receive a pass or fail grade based on active participation throughout the course as well as their presentations and feedback to each other.
Prerequisites:
The course is intended for PhD Students and others, especially Postdocs, from ITU, and other universities in Denmark and abroad.
Programme:
| Time | Topic | Primary references |
| 09:00 - 10:00 | Introduction to the course, lecturers and participants. | Participants’ applications to the course |
| 10:00 - 11:30 | Lecture 1. Qualitative studies and the role of theory and concepts | Whetten (1989) Seconday references: Blaikie (2000); Miles and Huberman; Gregor (2006); Mathiassen et al. (2009;2017) |
| 11:30 - 12:00 | Exercise 1. Participants present and discuss visual presentations from target outlets to each other (small groups). | |
| 12:00 - 13:00 | Lunch | |
| 13:00 -15:30 | Lecture 2. Examples of visual presentations of qualitative data - Tables and displays
- Visual diagrams and conceptual models
- Process diagrams
- Illustrated narratives and other hand drawn illustrations
- Participants’ own examples
| - APA guidelines (2019), Dahler Larsen (2008;2010)
- Miles and Huberman (1994), Levina (2003;2008)
- Fachin and Langley (2018), Lindgren and Madsen (2022)
- Mortensen (2025); Carreras and Winthereik (2023)
- TBA.
|
| 15:30 - 16:00 | Summary of Day 1 and introduction to exercises for Day 2. | |
- ITU (5A01 available for non ITU participants)
- Exercise 1: Finalize the search for visual presentations in target outlets.
- Exercise 2: Prepare a visual presentation of qualitative data from own study.
- Decide on the purpose of the presentation and selected outlet
- Analyse key relationships etc. in the data
- Develop the presentation (1 figure, table, image etc.)
| Time | Topic | References |
| 09:00 - 10:00 | Welcome back and overview of day 3 Discussion and feedback of exercises from Day 2 | |
| 10:00 - 12:00 | Participant presentations and feedback (part 1) | Students’ presentations |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch (ITU Canteen) | |
| 13:00 – 15:00 | Participant presentations and feedback (part 2) | Students’ presentations |
| 15:00 – 15:30 | Course evaluation | |
References:
References marked with * are secondary and will not be covered (extensively) during the course. All references should be available via the links provided below, Google Scholar or ResearchGate.
Whetten, D. A. (1989). What constitutes a theoretical contribution? Academy of management review, 14(4), 490-495. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1989.4308371
* Blaikie (2009). Sources and selection of data in Designing Social Research: The Logic of Anticipation (pp. 158-198). Polity Press. [This book chapter will be handed out in class]
*Gregor, S. (2006). The Nature of Theory in Information Systems1. MIS quarterly, 30(3), 611-642. https://doi.org/10.2307/25148742
* Mathiassen, L. (2017). Designing engaged scholarship: From real-world problems to research publications. Engaged Management Review, 1(1), 2. https://commons.case.edu/emr/vol1/iss1/2/
* Mathiassen, L., Chiasson, M., & Germonprez, M. (2009). Compositional styles in action research: A critical analysis of leading information systems journals. https://aisel.aisnet.org/sprouts_all/289/
* Sutton, R. I., & Staw, B. M. (1995). What theory is not. Administrative science quarterly, 371-384. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2393788
1. Tables and Displays
APA guidelines for tables. Accessed 02-03-2026 at: Table setup
*American Psychological Association. (2019). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association,(2020). American Psychological Association, 428.
Dahler-Larsen, P. (2008) Displaying Qualitative Data. University Press of Southern Denmark
*Dahler-Larsen, P. (2010). Display. In Metoder i statskundskab (pp. 192-214). Samfundslitteratur.
2. Visual diagrams and conceptual models
Levina, N., & Ross, J. W. (2003). From the Vendor’s Perspective: Exploring the Value Proposition in Information Technology Outsourcing. MIS quarterly, 27(3), 331-364. https://doi.org/10.2307/30036537
Levina, N., & Vaast, E. (2008). Innovating or Doing as Told? Status Differences and Overlapping Boundaries in Offshore Collaboration. MIS quarterly, 32(2), 307-332. https://doi.org/10.2307/25148842
*Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. sage.
3. Process diagrams
Fachin, F. F., & Langley, A. (2018). Researching organizational concepts processually: The case of identity. The SAGE handbook of qualitative business and management research methods: History and traditions, 308-327. (PDF) Researching organizational concepts processually: The case of identity
Lindgren, I., Madsen, C. Ø., Rydén, H. H., & Heggertveit, I. (2022, October). Exploring citizens’ channel behavior in benefit application: empirical examples from Norwegian welfare services. In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (pp. 416-423). https://doi.org/10.1145/3560107.3560312
4. Illustrated narratives and other hand drawn illustrations
Mortensen, N. M. (2025). “I Know I Am Not Supposed to, but I Just Want Them to Feel Cozy”: Dissonance Between the Co‐Production Myth and Persistence of the Care Paradigm in Public Service Encounters. Social Policy & Administration. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.70004
Cleeve, H., Borell, L., & Rosenberg, L. (2023). Drawing in-situ: Matters of care and representation in daily life with dementia. Qualitative Research, 23(3), 782-808. https://doi.org/10.1177/14687941211049321
Nino Carreras, B., & Ross Winthereik, B. (2023). Narrating Digital Access, Trauma, and Disability Through Comics and Image Description in Denmark. Medical Anthropology, 42(8), 787–814. https://doi.org/10.1080/01459740.2023.2267164
Rees, C. (2018). Drawing on drawings: Moving beyond text in health professions education research. Perspectives on medical education, 7(3), 166-173. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-018-0436-7
5. Participants’ own examples
TBA
Credits:
2.5 ECTS
Amount of hours the student is expected to use on the course:
Preparation: 54 hours (reading and preparation)
Participation: 20 hours (including 7 hours of self-study on day 2)
Exam: Preparing a visual presentation of qualitative data, (part of course participation on day 2)
How to sign up:
Students who wish to participate in the course must send an e-mail to Christian Madsen (chrm@itu.dk). The e-mail must include a brief cover letter (1 page) which presents their Ph.D. project, the research field the Ph.D. project is positioned towards, and what the data they wish to present. During the first day of the course the students will present their co-students’ projects to each other using these descriptions. During the third day, the students will present their visualizations and receive feedback from each other and the lecturer.
The deadline for signing up is: Friday May 22th (week 21)