Webcast Lecture Series

Qualitative Research: Looking Back and Looking Forward

Dr. Mike Pratt
Boston College

October 18th, 12:00 PM ET

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Lecture Abstract

In this talk, I will explore how qualitative research evolved in organizational research by examining changes in two major areas: how we do qualitative research and how we evaluate it. In particular, I track broad changes in case study, grounded theory, and ethnographic methods, as well as in various analytic practices or “moves” common across each as they relate to study design and data collection, coding and analysis, and writing and publishing. As time allows, I will discuss where qualitative methods has been particularly strong and where there are opportunities for growth. I conclude by discussing the future of qualitative methods as they pertain to the global proliferation of qualitative research; the emergence of artificial intelligence; and the ongoing challenges to positivist science.

Meet the Presenter

Michael G. Pratt (Ph.D. University of Michigan) is the O’Conner Family Professor in the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, and is an Academy of Management Fellow. His research draws heavily from theories of identity and identification, meaning and meaningful work, emotion, intuition, and trust. His work has appeared in various outlets, including the Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, OBHDP, and Organization Science, as well as in numerous edited books. Although he has published research that utilizes lab research and surveys, much of his work is qualitative in nature. His work on qualitative methodology has appeared in Organizational Research Methods, the Oxford Research Encyclopedia, the Oxford Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, as well as in book chapters and journal editorials. Mike is currently an outgoing associate editor at the Administrative Science Quarterly, and served as the inaugural qualitative research editor at the Academy of Management Journal.