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There are disagreements about, and contradictory indications of, the state of qualitative inquiry as a global endeavor. The article argues that these disagreements rather miss the point. The issue is not whether or not qualitative approaches to social research are developing across disciplines and continuing to receive funding, but rather to what purposes are qualitative methods being put? What research agendas are being pursued, and who sets them? The article illustrates these issues with respect to the effects of research selectivity and concentration in the United Kingdom and argues that qualitative research should continue to develop as an intellectual resource for the community rather than as a technical service to government.
Harry Torrance (2014) studied this question.