We are pleased to invite you for the seventh time to the International Qualitative Research Summer School 2025 (hereinafter – IQS School 2025) at Vytautas Magnus University. The author and initiator of this school is the independent School of Social Researcher (head is Prof. Dr. Vilma Žydžiūnaitė), which organizes the event together with the Institute of Educational Research / Academy of Education.

We are proud of the international reputation and solid achievements of this School, because we can be proud that every year doctoral students, researchers, scientists from all continents of the world study there, because they trust in quality.

What do we mean by this? Meaningfulness and attractiveness of the content, practicality and applicability, balance of contextuality and situationality, diversity of discussions and questions, interdisciplinary nature, opportunities for the development of social and subject networks, and double opening – to one’s own ignorance and new knowledge.

Such things would not be possible without the internationally renowned IQS School team and lecturers, who dedicate the time on an academic volunteering basis to the education of the international research community, aiming for academic dialogue and the quality of qualitative research.

We prepare for each IQS School season very carefully: studying what the expectations and needs of the audience were, predicting how it are likely to change over the past year, depending on complex contexts,  studing the ‘market’ of scientific research in recent years, conducting analyses of publications based on qualitative research in all sciences without exception – natural, technological, medical and health, agricultural, social sciences, humanities and arts. This means that every year the team does a huge job to make a decision – what we want to offer you this year?

While deciding on this year’s School concept, the team had several meetings, during which we had heated discussions, raising the following questions: ‘What direction do we support – ‘methods of the year’ or methodologies with long-standing traditions, which have an increasingly strong development direction, more and more high-quality research, include interdisciplinary solutions and make a breakthrough in destroying stereotypes? Do we take only one methodology and work with it throughout the IQS School period, or do we take several methodologies and implement them so that participants feel they have acquired new skills, strengthened their visions and realized that there is a need for innovation?’

We have decided this year to focus on three key, most scientifically reliable methodologies – Grounded Theory, Ethnography and Phenomenology. Why?

They will be taught by academic experts with an international reputation:

Prof. Antony Bryant from the United Kingdom, working at Leeds Beckett University; a collaborator, colleague of Professor Kathy Charmaz (the creator of constructivist GT), who has a multidisciplinary education, having obtained it at various universities: at the London school of Economics and Political science (UK) he defended his PhD, at Durham University (UK) he graduated in Computing studies and obtained an MSc. Professor conducts Grounded Theory education all over the world.

Dr. Laura Purdy from Liverpool John Moores University. She holds a PhD from the University of Otago (New Zealand), a MSc (Leisure Studies) from the University of Illinois (USA), and a Bachelor of Recreation and Leisure Studies (Hons.) from Brock University (Canada). She conducts research, based on ethnographic methodology, on a global scale, and teaching the subtleties of this methodology to international audiences of doctoral students and researchers.

Prof. PhD Vilma Žydžiūnaitė from Vytautas Magnus University, has a multidisciplinary education – defended doctoral dissertations in education and nursing, obtained two master’s degrees – in education and nursing, completed bachelor’s and diploma studies in health sciences, nursing, and higher professional studies – in medicine. Her studies include various countries – Lithuania, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Israel. The scope of teaching qualitative research methodology is international – Italy, Poland, Latvia, Belgium; qualitative research performance includes, in addition to Lithuania, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Slovenia, Norway. The range of her professional development, learning, and qualitative research results is wide – Asia, Europe, Australia, America, Canada.

This year the duration of the School is 23-27 June, 2025.

We will be teaching online.

Our focus is: Grounded Theory, Ethnography and Phenomenology.

Each methodology will be given 1.5 days.

Each methodology will be taught using the exact same structure:

The theoretical foundations of the methodology/method

Planning the study

Collecting data

Analysing data

A lot of time will be spent practicing the methodology.

Mark the dates on your calendar now for the following:

What? INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL ON QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AT VMU 2025

When? 23-27 JUNE, 2025

What kind of format? ON-LINE

What are the methodologies in focus? GROUNDED THEORY, ETHNOGRAPHY,  PHENOMENOLOGY

Who will be the lectures? PROF. A. BRYANT (LEEDS BECKETT UNIVERSITY, UK), PHD LAURA PURDY (LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY, UK), VILMA ZYDZIUNAITE (VYTAUTAS MAGNUS UNIVERSITY, LT).