Learning to be a Qualitative Management Researcher

Abstract

Conducting management research underpins management learning and education—therefore how the management researcher or practitioner learns research skills is an important issue to be addressed. This paper focuses upon the skills, knowledge and practices required to conduct qualitative management research, and the learning processes that go into their development. A total of 45 in-depth interviews were conducted with key stakeholders in the field. From an analysis of the interview data, the types of skills and knowledge required for the production of good qualitative research were identified, and the learning processes and practices associated with those skills were critiqued. It is argued that the processes by which we learn to do qualitative research, and become effective qualitative researchers, involve both the learning of appropriate skills and knowledge and their use and conceptualization through three types of research practice: reflection, reflexivity and phronesis. The implications of the analysis for management learning are presented.