Proceedings of the 8th World Conference on Qualitative Research

Qualitative and quantitative research are distinct techniques in social sciences. Both approaches have different strengths and logic where researchers employ them based on their research objectives. However, researchers have different perceptions towards qualitative research and often develop evading attitudes. The proposed paper examines the perception of researchers in management education for qualitative research inquiry. The primary data (n=99) has been collected through descriptive questionnaires from researchers engaged in qualitative and quantitative methods. A theoretical saturation has been used to capture holistic responses. ATLAS.ti 23, a computer assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS), has been used to analyse the descriptive data employing inductive thematic and qualitative content analysis. Themes have been identified using six steps of thematic analysis by Braun and Clarke. The emerging themes are resource crunch, research methodology & design challenges, and writing & interpretation challenges, which demonstrate significant perceptual distinction between male and female researchers in management education. Each theme has been interpreted using key quotations from responses and their significance with reference to the phenomenon under the study. Themes have been shown using Sankey diagram visualisation, networks and screenshots in order of significance. Emerged themes offer space for research institutions, faculty, research guides, researchers and consultants to change the perception towards qualitative research and develop a positive research environment. Further, researchers can make hypotheses from emerging themes and conduct quantitative research with a large sample size to generalise the concept. The study has practical implications for mixed-method research.