In-Person: March 5-6, 2025
Online: March 27-28, 2025
Call for Submissions Now Open (Deadline: August 2nd, 2024)
As a field and a profession, are we overly focused on how we impact our colleagues via their citations in their published works of our published works? Such an outcome is important as we see our research has helped others in academia learn from our work, but have we become too fixated on only influencing scholars like us? More importantly, do we care how our work makes a difference (if at all) in the worlds where we conducted our research outside academia?
And speaking of where we conduct our research, would we have greater impact in these communities if we started our inquiries in collaboration with those about whom we are curious and for whom we hope to provide a medium to express themselves? What if we thought about co-creating impact from the beginning of our research endeavors rather than only being concerned about the impact after we have published our research reports? What if we truly took the notion of co-researchers seriously and invited others in the communities in which we hope to produce significant social change to help co-create the research questions, co-design the studies, co-analyze the data, co-discuss the impact, and co-author the reports? What if they identified their needs, what if they helped to define the gaps in knowledge, and what if they helped us via their calls to action?
To bring these ideas into greater focus the theme of the 16th Annual Conference of The Qualitative Report is “Co-Creating Our Impact: Invitations to Change.” With this call, we are asking those among us who have already taken this collaborative turn for change to share their wisdom and experiences so we can accelerate this “difference that makes a difference” (thanks Gregory Bateson) in all the communities in which we live and for which we care.
This theme extends our previous themes that have centered on making differences in the world through qualitative research initiatives. Co-creating means that we do not act alone or in isolation and the most productive impacts come from collaborative efforts. Change is not imposed, it is invited and welcomed. We invite you to join us under this “big tent” as we encourage all qualitative researchers to conceptualize and conduct their work by stretching method as well as the content areas, using democratic processes to uplift people in their lives.
This notion of co-creating also includes how we act in our classrooms as we educate the next generation of qualitative researchers. Do we incorporate impactful, real-world projects in our learning environments, do we readily invite collaboration with and among our students, and do we invite students to help usher in this change? How do we act as guides and mentors to help the qualitative research leaders of tomorrow to lead in more inclusive, collaborative, change-making, and transformative ways?
In these invitations to change, can we also consider other ways we can share the reports of our collaborative inquiries beyond the traditional media of scholarly journals, books, chapters, and conferences? How can we utilize alternative means such as blogs, podcasts, and other social media channels to invite collaboration and communicate these tales of change and justice? How can TQR2025 serve as a nucleus for this new wave of connecting with others?
At TQR2025, we invite you to come share your impactful collaborations as researchers, teachers, and communicators and contribute to our vibrant qualitative research community. Maybe we can help change the world in the process!
Conference (In-Person vs. Online)
Please note, the conference will be taking place in-person March 5-6, 2025, and online March 27-28, 2025. You can submit proposals to both conferences, but each proposed presentation must be substantially different from your other submitted ones. If you have presentations accepted at both conferences and you present at the in-person event, we will waive your fee to present at the online conference.
Please submit your presentation ideas and join us online and at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA for TQR2025! We will be accepting submissions starting in April. Over the next few weeks, we will share more details about TQR2025 on the conference’s web site. As always, please let us know your questions and comments by sending us your emails to tqr@nova.edu, posting to our Facebook page, or by tweeting us!