Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a personal, reflective account of applying grounded theory, in particular Glaser's approach, in accounting research. It seeks to reduce barriers to adopting the grounded theory approach. Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken is...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on “Qualitative management accounting research: rationale, pitfalls and potential”, a paper by Juhani Vaivio. Design/methodology/approach – The approach takes the form of a critical reading of Vaivio's paper. Findings – The...

Purpose – To provide a practical example of how a research diary can be used to aid reflexivity in the research process. Whilst there have been increasing calls for reflexivity in management research, little has been written about how to “do” reflexivity in practice....

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the motivation for this special issue and its contributions. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a conceptual editorial piece which discusses current methodological tendencies in qualitative accounting research. Findings – The...

Purpose – This paper's purpose is to provide a commentary on “Qualitative management accounting research: rationale, pitfalls and potential,” a paper by Juhani Vaivio. Design/methodology/approach – The approach is to draw on alternative research paradigms to expand the definition and...

Purpose – The paper's aim is to reflect on the progress of the journal Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management since its inception in 2004. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the type of contributor to the journal, the subjects published and the qualitative research...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on “Remaining consistent with method? An analysis of grounded theory research in accounting”, a paper by Gurd. Design/methodology/approach – Like Gurd, the authors conducted a bibliographic study on prior pieces of research...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a rejoinder to Joannidès and Berland's comment on Gurd's paper on the use of grounded theory (GT) in interpretive accounting research, re-establishing the basics of GT. Design/methodology/approach – A refutation by argument. Findings –...

Purpose – The paper aims to provide an overview of the rationale for qualitative research in management accounting. It discusses how qualitative research could serve the development of theory, and provides guiding principles for qualitative investigation. It also seeks to identify common...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the literary authority of qualitative management accounting field research (QMAFR) and its interconnectedness with the scientific authority of this form of research. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a non-positivist...