Publishing Qualitative Research in Administrative Science Quarterly August, 2006

Editorial Domain From ASQ’s Notice to Contributors: “The ASQ logo reads ‘Dedicated to advancing the understanding of administration through empirical investigation and theoretical analysis.’ The editors interpret that statement to contain three components that affect editorial decisions. About any manuscript they ask: does this work (1) advance understanding, (2) address administration, and (3) have mutual relevance for empirical investigation and theoretical analysis…

“Theory is how we move to further research and improve practice. If manuscripts contain no theory, their value is suspect. Ungrounded theory, however, is no more helpful than are atheoretical data. We are receptive to multiple forms of grounding but not to a complete avoidance of grounding.”

The ideal manuscript will: Advance understanding—demonstrable conceptual addition to published knowledge Address administration—organizational and/or administrative research question Present (qualitative) empirical analysis as a means to ground and advance conceptualization—theory development the ultimate focus of investigation

Implications for Manuscript Preparation and Evaluation Introduction Framing of research question Organizational and/or administrative focus Indication of motivation (importance) Grounding of research question in relevant literature Review and analysis of key variables and relationships previously identified in the literature Provision of baseline for assessment of “conceptual value added” in discussion

Method Description of method and procedure specific enough to: Guide replication and facilitate empirical extension Provide confidence in the appropriateness of methodological decisions Examples: Interviews: Append complete protocols Case studies: Provide detailed demographic disclosure for each site Grounded theory analytical procedures: Show iterative development of coding scheme

Results On the folly of collecting rich data but writing a lean report More: Let the data do the talking Quotes, excerpts, descriptions Less: Talking about what the data say Counts, summaries, abstractions

Discussion Extraction of theory from data Grounded theory development, case-based modeling, etc. (from results) Inclusion of previously identified variables and relationships (from introduction) Evaluation of “conceptual value added” Comparison with state of literature, as reviewed in introduction Assessment of research implications—motivation revisited

Reiteration: Publication Criteria The ideal manuscript will: Advance understanding—demonstrable conceptual addition to published knowledge Address administration—organizational and/or administrative research question Present (qualitative) empirical analysis as a means to ground and advance conceptualization—theory development the ultimate focus of investigation