Forum: Qualitative Social Research (Journal)

In 1999, Forum: Qualitative Social Research—a peer-reviewed, open-access, multilingual, and multidisciplinary online journal—was launched. The journal publishes empirical studies using qualitative research methods and also encourages submissions that discuss the theories and methodologies reflected in qualitative research. The contents of Forum: Qualitative Social Research can be viewed online and downloaded for free. Moreover, journal subscribers receive email updates when new content is published.

This journal's goal is to create a place where discussions among qualitative researchers flourish in the [Page 355]social sciences and across international boundaries. By redefining the traditional format of published journals, Forum: Qualitative Social Research offers a more interactive periodical that serves as a conversation place for researchers, students, and others interested in qualitative research. In addition to soliciting theoretical, methodological, and research articles, the journal also encourages suggestions for revisions to its design. Conversation points, including reviews, debates, reports on conferences, and interviews, are also provided. For example, the editors may encourage debate of the journal's review of a particular book, interview a prominent scholar, or encourage discussion of new and/or controversial issues in the field.

When Forum: Qualitative Social Research was created, there were few conversational outlets for qualitative researchers. The founders of this journal saw this as problematic as qualitative research was typically marginalized within the social sciences, and many researchers had few opportunities to engage within their departments or disciplines around methodological issues. In addition, the journal's founders believed international boundaries between qualitative researchers were quite rigid. Grounded in their own German perspective, the founders noticed that German concepts gained little press in the United States, while few American methodologies were explored in Germany. Forum: Qualitative Social Research was formed to address this lack of international communication and to take advantage of the internet's ability to transcend geographic and disciplinary boundaries.

The creators of Forum: Qualitative Social Research note three characteristics that differentiate this journal from its traditional counterparts. First, publication timelines are more malleable in an online context; articles can be published immediately after peer review, leaving little lag time between research project completion and dissemination. Second, the amount of available space for each article is more flexible, allowing researchers to document the research process in more detail. Finally, free online publication provides for more interactivity, allowing researchers, readers, and editors to communicate electronically.