Qualitative research in accounting: the North American perspective

Purpose - – The purpose of this Special Issue ofQualitative Research in Accounting & Managementis to focus on qualitative research in accounting from a North American perspective. The goal is to highlight the possibility of greater contributions to qualitative research in accounting from researchers based in North America and to highlight some significant contributions produced by authors in North American universities in the qualitative domain. Design/methodology/approach - – The paper is conceptual in nature. Findings - – This sample of North American qualitative research in accounting provides an example of some of the different types of qualitative work being done. In most respects the articles are similar to qualitative research being done in other parts of the world. Perhaps the key difference is that the research has been undertaken for the most part by senior researchers who have been able to take some risks with a research paradigm that may not be widely accepted at their universities or they may be fortunate to be located at universities which value such research. Originality/value - – The paper broadens the view of qualitative research to North America where it appears that qualitative research has been relatively undervalued in recent years.