Qualitative methods in Israel

This paper surveys the evolution and current state of the art of qualitative methods as an academic discipline in Israel. By means of a survey carried out especially for this issue of FQS, the paper documents the prevalence of qualitative courses in Israel's institutions of higher learning and other networks which promote qualitative research. In addition, the article presents the findings of a separate survey carried out for this issue of all articles published in the past decade in Israel's foremost behavioural science journal "Megamot". It documents the methods used by Israeli scholars, as well as their new and emerging areas of interest. The article demonstrates that in recent years there has been a steady increase in interest in qualitative research in Israel. Finally, the paper discusses whether national experience shapes the selection of social scientific methods, and comes to the conclusion that it influences the research area studied but does not necessarily affect the methods used.