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Export date: Sun Sep 15 22:20:20 2019 / +0000 GMT

European Congress of Qualitative Inquiry


The 1st edition of the European Congress of Qualitative Inquiry is a unique event for sharing knowledge and seeking new collaboration and partnerships. It provides opportunities for addressing the common challenges that qualitative researchers face in their own geographical regions or research disciplines. Most importantly the Congress is a lively event, providing ample opportunities for interacting with friends and colleagues and learning about the latest developments and innovations in qualitative inquiry.

The venue of ECQI 2017 will be KU Leuven, situated near Brussels, the capital of Europe, and a centre of learning for almost six centuries now (founded in 1425).


In order to ensure best practice and to stimulate innovation in qualitative inquiry we permanently judge, evaluate and critique the works of others and try to improve the quality of our own work, through peer review of papers and proposals and through acts of reflexivity and reflections related to our own personal and epistemological stances in qualitative inquiry.  The internal compass we develop to assist in such processes is guided by a mixture of knowledge, experience and our personal stance on what we believe constitutes good qualitative research.  We ‘live up' to certain standards and ‘refuse' others. The different positions we take can be considered both an advantage and a disadvantage.  They contribute to the overall richness of our methodological field and allow us to deal with a variety of complex problems. At the same time, they complicate the search for a commonly accepted jargon to speak about quality and qualitative inquiry more generally.  In the recognition of the value of flexible, emerging and progressive approaches to qualitative research we permanently negotiate quality frameworks based on our own reflexive research practice. We welcome contributions from all scientific domains and all qualitative research traditions, featuring innovative research methodologies, introducing worked examples that illustrate a reflexive research attitude or pushing the boundries of what we currently perceive as best practice in qualitative inquiry.

university hall

For the general conference track at this 1st edition of ECQI we welcome contributions that answer the following questions:

QUALITY in qualitative inquiry

  • How has the debate on quality shifted over time and how has it hindered or facilitated progress in the field of qualitative inquiry?

  • Which quality frameworks are available to us? Do we need them at all, and why?

  • How do we choose to negotiate quality criteria and frameworks within the current evidence-based discourse? How do we balance methodological flaws against richness of description and the need to experiment with emerging and innovative methodologies and research lenses?

  • What sort of translations of quality do we support in the multiplicity of qualitative research paradigms and methodological approaches applied?

REFLEXIVITY in qualitative inquiry

  • What is a reflexive account to inquiry and how do we report on it?

  • What are the mechanisms by which we can make these processes more transparent for others to learn from?

  • What is the role of theory in our research?  How and where does it manifest itself?

Also, in the general conference track, we further welcome contributions discussing a particular topical area of interest to a multidisciplinary crowd of qualitative researchers. 

Please check the event website for further info. Call for abstract closed 15/9 but it is still possible to apply for a poster session.