Food for Thought: Nourishing the Publication of Qualitative Research

Abstract

In recent years, journal editors have issued loud and earnest calls for high-quality manuscripts based on qualitative methods. Yet, in reviewing the past several years of gerontological journals, including the Journal of Applied Gerontology (JAG), the authors noticed that the rate at which qualitative papers are published has held steady at modest percentages of the total number of published works. This essay explores this seemingly contradictory situation by providing insights into several key questions: Why are not more research articles published that use qualitative methods? Why is it important that qualitative researchers publish their works in applied venues like the JAG? What should authors of qualitative pieces keep in mind when developing their manuscripts?