ABSTRACT
One of the fiercest methodological debates in the organizational and social sciences involves the relative merit of qualitative versus quantitative research. Proponents of qualitative research make strong claims about the strengths of their approach, including greater ecological validity, richer and more descriptive accounts of real-world events, and greater ability to uncover processes and mechanisms in natural settings (Kidd, 2002; Lee, Mitchell, & Sablynski, 1999; Maxwell, 2004; Miles, 1979; Ratner, 1997; Van Maanen, 1979). Those in the quantitative research camp lament the advantages of their approach, discussing strengths such as precision of measurement, experimental control, and generalizability (Aluko, 2006; Cook & Campbell, 1979).*
Notwithstanding this debate, the social and organizational sciences are dominated by quantitative research (Patton, 1991; Van Maanen, 1979). Qualitative methods are rarely offered in graduate research methods curricula (Cassell & Symon, 1994), and qualitative research does not frequently appear in mainstream, high-impact social science journals. For instance, Kidd (2002) found that the overall publication rate for qualitative research was 1% in 15 American Psychological Association (APA) journals and 33% of these journals had never published a single qualitative study. Likewise, in a review of 454 articles published in 10 APA journals, Munley et al. (2002) found that the vast majority (98%) were quantitative. Although some scholars are cautiously optimistic about the incorporation of qualitative research into the social and organizational sciences (e.g., Lee, 1999), others are less so (e.g., Cassell & Symon, 1994). Irrespective of these differing views, qualitative researchers are in agreement that their work is misunderstood, underappreciated, and devalued by quantitative researchers (e.g., Jick, 1979; Luthans & Davis, 1982; Maxwell, 2004; Miles & Huberman, 1994; Van Maanen, 1979).
