New Possibilities and Chapters

Abstract

New chapters abound. The International Journal of Qualitative Methods (IJQM) is now published by SAGE on behalf of the International Institute for Qualitative Methodology (IIQM). This exciting new partnership between IJQM, IIQM, and SAGE comes at a time of growth for each of ‘‘us,’’ and the qualitative methods that we are committed to reflecting, supporting, and shaping now, in, and for the future. As we face this future, some of the older methodological arguments and difficulties are now past. Dichotomous and divisive paradigm tensions with quantitative methods have now almost disappeared, debate being fixed far more on similarity and compatibility (Newman & Hitchcock, 2011). Those who do qualitative research are now far less likely to have to plead base legitimacy for their work. In our professional roles chairing national peer-review funding committees, meeting clinicians about how qualitative research can help them, and in the many conferences and workshops we are involved in each year, we see genuine curiosity, respect, and openness to qualitative methods. There is more awareness and acknowledgment of qualitative methods by government, research-funding bodies, and journals too. Even traditional bastions of quantitative methods, like the Cochrane Collaboration, now support systematic reviews of qualitative research (Metin Gulmezoglu, Chandler, Shepperd, & Pantoja, 2013). While getting funding, doing, and publishing qualitative work are certainly not easy, many of the past challenges of doing so are much changed. Yet, we are surrounded still by new methodological challenges. Innovative technology raises basic questions about what constitutes qualitative data. Emerging methods, like realist and mixed methods, challenge us to better realize the benefits of qualitative with quantitative data together. Developments in knowledge translation and social media provide new possibilities for qualitative research to change the world. Even those challenges that we thought could be ‘‘developed away,’’ such as around rigor and reflexivity, evolve rather than disappear (Sandelowski, 2014). Those who do qualitative work are changing too. Applied qualitative research is being carried out not only by academics but also more by practitioners and clinicians too. While qualitative work remains prominent in disciplines like teaching, social work, and nursing, it is growing in other disciplines such as psychology, finance, and even animal conservation (Drury, Homewood, & Randall, 2011) and anesthesia (Shelton, Smith, & Mort, 2014)! Support, mentorship, and development for all those doing this rich array of qualitative work have never then been more important or as difficult. The disciplines engaging with and using qualitative research methods are wider than ever. The cadre of skills successful researchers need is astonishingly broad and deep. IJQM, echoing IIQM’s vision, remains firmly fixed on being a vital, collaborative and transformative hub for all those who seek to use and advance qualitative inquiry for a better world. To realize this vision, IJQM continues to be an international forum in and through which innovations, insights, and advances in qualitative research methodology can be shared with the global community of qualitative researchers. As the leading international publisher shaping qualitative research methods across disciplines, SAGE are the ideal partner to achieve this. While IJQM remains independent editorially from both IIQM and SAGE, the journal benefits invaluably from their support. In approaching this new chapter for IJQM, we recognize too the vital contributions the journal has had from