Is there room for qualitative research in accounting?

The main objective of this article is to examine the academic production of doctoral dissertations in graduate programs in Accounting Sciences in Brazil from 2007 to 2021, with regard to the use of quantitative, qualitative, or mixed research approaches, to understand to what extent, the perception of a predominance of quantitative studies is actually accurate. A total of 522 dissertations were analyzed, of which 364 employed a quantitative research strategy, representing approximately 70% of the sample. Additionally, 114 dissertations adopted a qualitative approach (around 22%) and 44 used a mixed approach (approximately 8%). Thus, a clear preference for the quantitative strategy was observed, disproportionately outweighing the others and increasing in recent years, reinforcing the notion of the formation of “islands” of knowledge or “tribes” of researchers. It can also be inferred that this preference is linked to the idea of academic productivism. Considering that accounting is a relatively recent scientific field, especially when considering its development in the Brazilian academic context, this article contributes to potential advances by encouraging reflection on research practices in the field, mechanisms for supporting researchers, and the foundations on which researchers are being trained. Issues related to research problems that are potentially overlooked because they demand more effort from researchers are another important point of reflection raised by this study.