ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the capacity of qualitative inquiry to produce social change and explains the role of the public intellectual. It explores a way forward toward such ends, thinking outside' the academy. Qualitative Inquiry outside the Academy is organized into four parts: Public, with, outside, and beyond. In a highly influential presidential address to the American Sociological Association's annual conference in 2004, Michael Buroway made a forceful call to arms in favor of a public sociology. The link between empiricism, positivism and the global audit culture is not accidental and it is more than just technical. Such technical approaches deflect attention away from the deeper issues of value and purpose. Patricia Leavy points out that "the existing tenure and promotion system continues to enforce disciplinarity". She continues: Academics have clear incentives to design small-scale projects that can be completed and published quickly.
