The primary objectives of the course are as follows:

1. Enabling crucial linkages between theory and practice at the interface of mental health and social sciences through training on qualitative and ethnographic research methods.

2. Providing specific training in the use of clinical ethnographic methods in studying social suffering and mental health, by engaging with ongoing research projects of participants.

3. Developing participants’ critical understanding of how to apply qualitative and clinical ethnographic methods in their own research and practice settings through supervisory sessions and peer learning

4. Enabling participants to develop a deeper awareness of the importance of reflexivity and the role of the researcher in qualitative and ethnographic research.

5. Build participants’ confidence in applying specific methodological skills in relation to ethnographic research through specific exercises on research design, participant observation, writing field notes, data analysis and writing up research findings.