ABSTRACT
In interpretive research, the use of conversations, narratives and stories from 'the field' often provides the basis for researchers' representations. Interviews are frequently seen as an important information source in such research. In the management accounting literature, one of the most prominent papers that aimed to describe what interpretive research in accounting entails is Ahrens et al. (2008). In 2012, Ezzamel, Robson and Stapleton contains a case study carried out across a number of educational institutions in the UK, in which the implementation of specific budgeting practices is studied. In 1998, Goulding asserts that grounded theory does fit interpretive research, as the meaning of the materials that are collected in 'the field' tends to be analysed by researchers. In ethnographic research, passing judgement on which practices are worthy of exploration, and the interpretation and framing of these in terms of a 'theory', are a reflection of an ethnographer's observation of daily conventions.
