Improving the Odds of Publishing Inductive Qualitative Research in Premier Academic Journals

Abstract

The objective of this commentary is to explore the challenges scholars face in developing qualitative work to the standards required for publication in top international journals. Over the past decade, qualitative research has achieved increased acceptance in the academic community (Bansal & Corley, 2011) because research on impact has found that although published qualitative studies represent a relatively small proportion in premier journals, they account for a “disproportionate” portion of works considered by the general community of scholars as the most interesting (Bartunek, Rynes, & Ireland, 2006). First, I discuss the common confusion between qualitative and quantitative research, and the related expectations for each genre. Second, I discuss some of the more common mistakes made by inductive qualitative (IQ) researchers that lead to rejection by premier journals. Third, I present some of the deeper causes that may produce these mistakes. Fourth, I propose some advice that can help improve the odds of publishing IQ studies. Finally, I lay out other benefits of doing qualitative research, even if publishing it in premier journals fails.