Aims & Scope

Manuscript Criteria

Papers submitted for review to The Qualitative Report must be original works on the part of the authors, must not have been published previously, and must not be under review with another publication at any time during the review process. A wide variety of submissions are welcomed to The Qualitative Report. Given the richness and diversity of qualitative research and researchers from around the world, papers reflecting scientific, artistic, critical and clinical postures are all fitting contributions to the electronic pages of this journal. Methods depicted in these papers may be qualitative, comparative, mixed, collaborative, action-oriented, appreciative, and/or critical in nature. Papers may be qualitative research studies, commentaries about the conduct of qualitative research, prescriptive pieces on carrying out qualitative research, "back stage" essays in which authors give a perspective on how they created and crafted a particular project, presentations on technological innovations relevant to qualitative researchers and their inquiries, and any other issues which would be important for practitioners, teachers, and learners of qualitative research.

The length of submitted works may vary greatly. Since The Qualitative Report is not restricted by the economics of paper, contributors can concentrate on the particularities of their paper at hand and let those considerations shape the length of their narrative rather than an arbitrary limit of words or pages. Having said that, it is important for authors to remember TQR publishes article-length manuscripts and not book-length manuscripts so authors should give careful consideration to manuscripts over 45 pages. In such instances, the author should consider whether or not the manuscript reflects ideas for two separate papers and then edit the manuscript so the text is more focused before submitting it to TQR. In such cases, the author might consider submitting two papers after the revisions are done on the original opus.

Given the ways in which a style guide can shape the writing choices made by an author, we want to assist you as you prepare your submissions by letting you know that we use The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA; 7th ed.) as a guide for contributors to The Qualitative Report. This means that we ask authors to look to APA recommendations regarding the title, abstract, and headings used in the paper, as well as the format of references and citations within the text. We also request some writing practices we think improve the reporting of qualitative research methods and results, such as the use of active voice and the inclusion of the researcher's context as it relates to the topic under study. Otherwise, style is a matter of choice on the parts of authors. We recognize that the style of writing for contributions to The Qualitative Report is a matter of particularity for authors, and we welcome a range of writing styles.

Even though The Qualitative Report is based on a textual metaphor, nontextual forms of representation are also welcomed. Graphics, pictures, sounds, moving images, and hyperlinking may all be features in works presented in this journal.

Contributors to The Qualitative Report can also engage in a process known as "Living Documents" (Ives & Jarvenpaa, 1996) with their published works in the pages of the journal. In the "Living Documents" approach to writing, authors can nurture their published works and cultivate them as new developments arise within the scope of the paper, as hyperlinked resources located in the paper are updated or changed, and/or as the author's thinking evolves on the topic. Authors wishing to participate in this living scholarship approach with any of their writing in The Qualitative Report need only to email the editor and the process of enlivening the text can ensue.

If you have any questions regarding the submissions process please email Editor in Chief Dr. Ron Chenail at ron@nova.edu

Conclusion

If we are successful in our labors, we will create a sustainable learning community that will foster growth in qualitative researchers and improvement in qualitative research. We trust authors find this new beginning an intriguing opportunity to learn and consider joining us in this pursuit.

References

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Ives, B., & Jarvenpaa, S. L. (1996, Spring). Will the Internet revolutionize business education and research? Sloan Management Review, 37(3), 33-41.