In the roiling smoke: qualitative inquiry and contested fields

Abstract

Two British authors reflect on the current state of qualitative research, viewed as a battlefield through roiling smoke. From a UK perspective they reflect on the perceived crisis in qualitative research in the United States. They also suggest that there are four important features that good qualitative research should rely on: problematizing ‘education’; avoiding ethnocentricism; appreciating the long history of qualitative research; and carrying out proper in‐depth ethnographic studies that generate adequately theorized analysis. If these features appear, qualitative research will thrive. Researchers need to reaffirm the significance of qualitative research but repeated searches for novelty and a denial of past achievements will weaken our overall claim for legitimacy. In the UK and Europe qualitative research is flourishing, but there too it needs constantly to demonstrate the quality of research and its enduring impact on high‐quality social research.

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Helen Greenslade for word‐processing drafts of this paper and to the anonymous referees of QSE for their helpful and constructive comments.