THE CONSORTIUM ON QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS (CQRM) promotes the teaching and use of qualitative research methods in the social sciences. Our activities include an annual training institute (IQMR), where leading scholars have (to date) taught advanced qualitative methods to one thousand and eighty six graduate students and faculty.

Beginning with academic year 2008-2009, the Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research moved to the Maxwell School, Syracuse University, and shifted from January to a summer time slot. The Institute is partly funded by the National Science Foundation. CQRM's activities have received generous support from the Hunt Alternatives Fund.

The Institute is held at the same time as a related Research Group on Qualitative and Multi-Method Analysis. While the Institute focuses on teaching research skills, the Research Group is an authors' workshop which encourages the development of qualitative and multi-method research techniques.

CQRM's members in academic year 2010-2011 included departments, centers and/or institutes at: Aarhus University, University of Alberta, American University, University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Bergen University, Boston University, University of British Columbia,  Brown University, University of California Berkeley, University of California Irvine, University of California Riverside, University of Chicago, University of Colorado, Columbia University, Cornell University, University of Delaware, Duke University, PRI Frankfurt, University of Florida, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Indiana University, Johns Hopkins University,  Johns Hopkins SAIS, University of Kansas, Universite Laval, University of London, University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, McGill University, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, New School for Social Research, Northwestern University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Northern Illinois University, University of Notre Dame, Ohio State University, University of Oklahoma, University of Oregon, Oxford University, The Pennsylvania State University, University of Pittsburgh, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Princeton University, Queen's University, Radboud University, Rutgers University, University of Southern California, University of Southern Denmark, Syracuse University, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Temple University, University of Texas, Texas State University, University of Toronto, Tufts University, United States Naval Academy, University of Vienna, University of Virginia, University of Washington, University of Washington, Washington State University, University of Western Michigan, University of Western Ontario, and Yale University.  In addition to students sponsored by members, the 2011 institute also drew individual attendees from Bahcesehir University, University of California Davis, University of California Santa Cruz, European University Institute, Humboldt University, National Ground Intelligence Center, University of Rochester, and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

While the consortium's mission is to promote qualitative methods, we proceed from the position that to produce policy-relevant knowledge, the social sciences should employ the full range of available complementary qualitative, statistical and formal methods. Our concern is that very few leading research universities offer graduate-level qualitative methods courses and even fewer require them. As a consequence, the social sciences are failing to take advantage of recent advances in qualitative methods, and in the long run risk losing an important component of their methodological heterogeneity.