CAHSS Faculty Articles

Communicating Your Qualitative Research Better

ORCID ID

0000-0002-9312-9780

ResearcherID

G-8814-2018

Publication Title

Family Business Review

ISSN

0894-4865

Publication Date

6-2009

Abstract

Excerpt

The editors and authors of the Family Business Review (FBR) have an impressive track record of reflecting on how we can collectively better the ways we explore the dynamics of family-controlled enterprises (e.g., Bird, Welsch, Astrachan, & Pistrui, 2002; Dyer & Sánchez, 1998; Handler, 1989; Sharma, 2004; Zahra & Sharma, 2004). An important methodological approach to studying this exploration rigorously, qualitative research, has also been the subject of some wonderfully insightful FBR articles (e.g., Kenyon-Rouvinez, 2001; Lambrecht & Lievens, 2008), which present family business researchers with best practices for conducting and presenting the results of their future qualitative investigations. Given the increasing usage of case studies in family business research through the influence of innovative programs such as Babson College’s STEP Project for Family Enterprising (see http://www 3.babson.edu/eship/step/), it seemed prudent to continue the journal’s didactic tradition by focusing this editorial note on qualitative inquiry. So, drawing on my work with qualitative research authors from around the world the past 19 years as editor of The Qualitative Report and mentoring family therapy and science contributors to the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy as editor since 2005, I offer the following five ways to communicate your qualitative research methods and results better: (a) make the local globally significant; (b) mark differences between methodology and method; (c) manage errors of deficiency and exuberance; (d) maintain coherence across your report; and (e) make transparency goal one.

DOI

10.1177%2F0894486509334795

Volume

22

Issue

2

First Page

105

Last Page

108

Link to Full Text
Peer Reviewed

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