This paper aims to advance understanding of how to generate meaningful or significant topics for accounting research. This topic is important because significance of the research topic is a key determinant of publication success, yet the literature only provides very general guidance on the idea generation process. To permit in-depth exploration, phone interviews were conducted with 20 ''influential'' accounting researchers, as identified by Brown [Acc. Org. Soc. Oct/Nov (1996) 723] based on annual citation counts to authors' works. Each scholar was first asked to share his/her thoughts on what makes a research topic meaningful/significant. There was considerable consensus that the research should have a significant impact upon the literature and/or address a real world problem. The literature impact can come from filling a significant gap in theory, producing salient, novel/new or unexpected results, advancing understanding of hard-to-solve research issues, or introducing new procedures. The scholars then used specific publications to illustrate the processes that they had used to generate and develop meaningful/significant research topics. Detailed quotes are included to facilitate access to the richness of the scholars' responses. Applications to accounting education research also are discussed.