The discovery of cumulative knowledge

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide guidance for designing and generating cumulative knowledge based on qualitative research. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on the philosophy of science and specific examples of qualitative studies in accounting that have claimed a cumulative contribution to knowledge to develop a taxonomy of theoretically justified approaches to generating cumulative knowledge from qualitative research. Findings The paper argues for a definition of cumulative knowledge that is inclusive of anti-realist research, i.e. knowledge is cumulative if it increases the extent and density of intertextual linkages in a field. It identifies the possibility of cumulative qualitative research based on extensions to the scope of the knowledge and the depth of the knowledge. Extensions to the scope of the knowledge may include expanding the time periods, context, and/or theoretical perspective used to explore a phenomenon. Extensions to the depth of the knowledge may include new empirical knowledge, methodological pluralism, theory elaboration, or analytic generalization. Individual studies can demonstrate their contribution to cumulative knowledge by locating their research within a typology/taxonomy that makes explicit the relationship of current research to past, and potential, research. Research limitations/implications The taxonomy may be useful to qualitative researchers designing and reporting research that will have impact on the literature. Social implications The increased use of research impact as an evaluation metric has the potential to handicap the development qualitative research which is often thought of as generating non-cumulative knowledge. The taxonomy and the strategies for establishing cumulative impact may provide a means for this approach to research to establish its importance as a contribution to knowledge. Originality/value The concept of cumulative knowledge has not been systematically applied to research based on qualitative methods.

Intellectual heritages of post-1990 public sector accounting research: an exploration

“…In terms of theory building, these dimensions are consistent with considerations of domain and method theory (Lukka and Vinnari, 2014; Lukka, 2005). Moreover, delving into a typological frame is complementary to Richardson's (2018) taxonomical approach to further categorise the value of strategies for generating cumulative knowledge (Parker et al , 2019), and it may be useful in coping with the apparent risk of ‘monopolized scholarly attention’ (Steccolini, 2019). By elaborating this scheme, we aim to categorise the empirically based patterns of inquiry as primarily identified by our bibliometric analysis.…”

“…Enhanced mapping of such methodological reasoning is substantially in place (Modell et al , 2017b; Lukka and Vinnari, 2017; Richardson, 2018). The argument about domain-specific theorising and context effect theory is important for our research since it brings attention to the ontological shift associated with a post-NPM Public (Sector/Service/Value) Accounting framing.…”

“…The third consideration relates to methodological choices in post-NPM PSA framing. Prescriptions on how to justify novelty in a domain-specific knowledge base are both crucial and, surprisingly, limited (Richardson, 2018; Whetten, 2009). Given the essential role of PSA interdisciplinarity (Jacobs and Cuganesan, 2014; Jeacle and Carter, 2014), our summary indicates a need to take greater account of the methodological fit.…”

“…This anticipates the institutional and political nature of scientific work, where the latter is associated with the social influence assigned to a journal within a bibliometric environment (Rost et al , 2017; Endenich and Trapp, 2018). Further reasoning may assimilate such insights, particularly when one aims to compare knowledge accumulation with reference to different, even multi-disciplinary research fields (Wright, 2011; Richardson, 2018). From our analysis, an additional avenue for further research may be found in refining the propositional arguments about NPM's survival, especially given speculation about ‘managerialism redux’ (Pollitt, 2016; Reiter and Klenk, 2019).…”

Diffusion of Innovations and Labor Market Challenges: A Multiple Case Study from Angola

“…It is argued that the issue of quality in qualitative research can never be addressed by a single method but may be judged through multiple perspectives that fuel the selection of an adequate methodology with a solid research design that oversees trustworthiness from the perspective of credibility, transferability, dependability, conformability, and ethics (Chowdhury, 2015;Richardson, 2018). The philosophical orientation to research as well as methodological integrity to qualitative inquiry requires that qualitative researchers intersect the issues of quality and credibility with the intended research goals (Patton, 1999).…”