AMERICAN JOURNAL OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Aims and Scope

The American Journal of Qualitative Research (AJQR) is an international, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed scholarly journal dedicated to advancing the theory, methodology, practice, and application of qualitative research. Published quarterly, AJQR provides a global forum for scholars, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to disseminate high-quality qualitative scholarship and contribute to methodological and theoretical developments across the social sciences and related fields. Founded in 2017, AJQR publishes original qualitative research and methodological scholarship across disciplines including, but not limited to, education, psychology, sociology, health and social sciences, criminology and criminal justice, political science, public administration, organizational studies, and other interdisciplinary areas in which qualitative inquiry plays a significant role.

The journal particularly welcomes manuscripts that demonstrate a clear and rigorous qualitative methodological focus and make a meaningful contribution to qualitative research, theory, methodology, or practice. AJQR encourages scholarship that critically examines, applies, extends, or advances established and emerging qualitative approaches.

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Original empirical studies employing rigorous qualitative methodologies;
  • Methodological innovations and developments in qualitative inquiry;
  • Theoretical and conceptual contributions to qualitative research;
  • Phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory, case study, narrative inquiry, participatory and action research, and other qualitative traditions;
  • Qualitative data collection, analysis, interpretation, and representation;
  • Reflexivity, researcher positionality, ethics, trustworthiness, and rigor in qualitative research;
  • Digital, visual, arts-based, and other innovative approaches to qualitative inquiry;
  • Cross-cultural, international, and comparative applications of qualitative research;
  • Critical and interdisciplinary perspectives on qualitative methodology; and
  • Emerging methodological issues, technologies, and practices affecting qualitative research.

AJQR welcomes scholarship from researchers worldwide and encourages studies representing different disciplinary, cultural, national, and methodological perspectives. The journal particularly values manuscripts that engage with contemporary methodological debates, demonstrate methodological transparency and rigor, and have relevance beyond a narrowly defined local or disciplinary context.

While AJQR is interdisciplinary in scope, the use of qualitative methods alone does not automatically make a manuscript suitable for the journal. Submissions should demonstrate a substantive engagement with qualitative inquiry and clearly articulate how the study contributes to qualitative methodological knowledge, understanding, or practice. Through the publication of rigorous and innovative scholarship, AJQR seeks to advance qualitative inquiry, foster interdisciplinary and international scholarly exchange, and contribute to the continued development of qualitative research across disciplines and research contexts.