Submit a Manuscript to the Journal
Qualitative Research in Psychology
For a Special Issue on
The Future of Rigorous Qualitative Research
Manuscript deadline
Special Issue Editor(s)
Dr Madeleine Pownall,
School of Psychology, University of Leeds
[email protected]
Dr Nicki Lisa Cole,
Know Center, Graz
[email protected]
Dr Annayah Prosser,
University of Bath School of Management
[email protected]
Dr Tamarinde Haven,
Tilburg University
[email protected]
The Future of Rigorous Qualitative Research
Qualitative Research in Psychology invites submissions for a special issue on “The Future of Rigorous Qualitative Research.” This issue aims to move beyond mapping existing standards of quality to ask a broader, forward-looking question: What does the future of rigorous qualitative research look like in an era of open science, generative AI, increasing authoritarianism/geopolitical shifts, climate crisis and increasing concerns around research security?
Recent work has made important contributions by articulating how quality is defined and enacted across qualitative methodologies. Building on this foundation, we seek contributions that look ahead, to examine how qualitative research may (and should) be reshaped by emerging technologies, evolving epistemic norms, and changing institutional, ethical and political landscapes.
We particularly encourage empirical papers that demonstrate future-oriented approaches to rigorous qualitative research in practice. However, theoretical, methodological, and conceptual contributions are also welcome, especially those that offer generative frameworks, provocations, or agendas for qualitative inquiry in psychology.
Submissions might address (but are not limited to):
- The future of qualitative research in the context of open science practices, norms, and principles
- Generative AI and its implications for data generation, analysis, interpretation, and authorship in qualitative methodologies
- What research security, confidentiality, and ethical challenges mean for the future of qualitative work
- Considering the impact of global political shifts, climate crisis and instability on the future of inclusive and fair qualitative research practice.
- Innovations in qualitative rigour, transparency, and accountability
- Reimagining and future-proofing training, evaluation, and publication of qualitative research
Submission Instructions
We invite contributions that are explicitly future-forward, critically engaged, and attentive to the evolving conditions under which qualitative psychological research is conducted.
We particularly welcome creative, critical, and boundary-pushing submissions, including work that challenges established assumptions about rigour, method, and evaluation in qualitative psychology (and other disciplines). Submissions from early-career researchers, doctoral researchers, and scholars working at methodological,institutional or societal margins are especially encouraged. Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary contributions are also welcomed. The editorial team is committed to making this special issue as supportive and developmental as possible, including through constructive reviewing practices and openness to diverse scholarly voices, approaches, and formats that advance rigorous qualitative research in future-oriented ways.