Advancing what? Qualitative research, scholarship, and the research imperative

In this keynote address, the author explores the role that scholarship plays in shaping and advancing qualitative research. The focus is on the dynamic relationship that exists between scholarship, qualitative research, qualitative researchers, and the research imperatives that form part of the context in which they operate. Neither scholarship nor qualitative research exists in a contextual vacuum. Changing thoughts and emphases in educational institutions and society at large influence, and are in turn influenced by, understandings of scholarship and research. Boyer's (1990) work on scholarship provides a vehicle for much of the discussion.