From the Field to the Field: Mapping a Landscape of Qualitative Research Through Scholars’ Personal Letters

Abstract

Despite the growth of qualitative research, we lack a systematic understanding of the lived experiences of qualitative scholars themselves. Our study is motivated by the intuition that by shedding light on the “map makers behind the maps” we may gain a novel view of the field: of the assumptions, emotions, fears and hopes that anchor extant qualitative theorizing. In this spirit, we solicited personal letters from a sample of North American and Western European management and entrepreneurship scholars, inviting them to reflect on their experiences as bases for articulating insights and advice for future researchers. Our letters revealed three distinct “maps of the field”: “roadmaps”; “political maps”; and “pictorial maps.” These maps stressed different features, distinct temporal orientations (past or future), emotions (positive, negative, or mixed), and “navigation advice.” Based on these various “maps” and insights, we draw theoretical and practical implications for future qualitative research.