摘要：The purpose of this article is to identify trends in qualitative research published in the journal of the Japan Society for Educational Technology (JSET) and discuss the value and issues concerning and outlook for qualitative educational technology research. We analyzed articles featured in the JSET journal between 2006 and 2017 (issues 30:1 to 41:1), arranged these articles into four categories：“primary, secondary, and reschool education,” “higher education,” “adult education,” and “other” and identified the trends in these categories. Studies that used qualitative methods accounted for 13% of the articles over the past 10 years. Despite this small percentage, these studies have helped extend the focus of educational technology research to the socio-historical aspects of learning and the subjective reflections of participants, that prior educational technology research have not addressed adequately. However, there are challenges for qualitative research in educational technology in terms of the consistency of its epistemologies and research methodology for capturing the dynamics of learning. The purpose and process of qualitative research vary depending on the approaches the authors adopt when analyzing qualitative data. Therefore, educational technologists who adopt qualitative approaches should clarify their epistemological stance as well the procedures and analytical methods deployed in their research.
