The Obstacles of Using Qualitative Approach in Accounting Research: Perceptions of Accounting Departments' Faculty Members of Libyan Universities

Although the qualitative approach has been recognized as an effective approach to link accounting research with accounting practices and accounting education, the accounting research is still dominated by the quantitative approach. The unpopularity of the qualitative approach in accounting research is attributed to several obstacles related to individuals, management, and the nature of the qualitative approach. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to investigate the obstacles of the use of the qualitative approach in accounting research that come from accounting faculty members, management of universities, and the nature of qualitative research. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, the analytical descriptive approach was used based on a questionnaire which was distributed to 60 accounting faculty members at different academic ranks at Libyan universities. The data was analyzed by descriptive statistics and One Sample T Test and one sample Wilcoxon Singed Rank Test. The results of the study showed that the three selected obstacles of using the qualitative approach in accounting research are facing accounting faculty members at Libyan universities and they are statistically significant. The main obstacle is the management of Libyan universities, followed by the accounting faculty members, and finally the obstacles related to the nature of the qualitative approach.