Quality_Criteria_in_Qualitative_Research

Question 1

What is meant by quality criteria in qualitative research?

Answer 1

Standards and guidelines used to assess the rigor, trustworthiness, and credibility of qualitative studies.

Question 2

How does qualitative research ensure rigor compared to quantitative research?

Answer 2

Instead of statistical validity and reliability, qualitative research ensures rigor through transparency, reflexivity, and credibility measures.

Question 3

What are Lincoln and Guba’s four trustworthiness criteria?

Answer 3

1. Credibility (Internal Validity)
2. Transferability (External Validity)
3. Dependability (Reliability)
4. Confirmability (Objectivity)

Question 4

What is credibility in qualitative research?

Answer 4

Ensures that findings are believable and accurately reflect participants’ realities.

Question 5

How can credibility be ensured in qualitative research?

Answer 5

1. Prolonged engagement.
2. Triangulation of data sources.
3. Member-checking.
4. Peer debriefing.

Question 6

What is transferability in qualitative research?

Answer 6

Refers to whether the findings can be applied to other contexts or groups.

Question 7

How can transferability be enhanced in qualitative research?

Answer 7

Using thick description—providing detailed contextual accounts that allow readers to determine applicability.

Question 8

What is dependability in qualitative research?

Answer 8

Demonstrates that findings are consistent and could be replicated in a similar context.

Question 9

How can dependability be maintained in qualitative research?

Answer 9

1. Maintaining an audit trail of research decisions.
2. Using a code-recode strategy to check consistency.

Question 10

What is confirmability in qualitative research?

Answer 10

Ensures findings are shaped by participants’ experiences rather than researcher bias.

Question 11

What techniques ensure confirmability in qualitative research?

Answer 11

1. Reflexivity—acknowledging researcher biases.
2. Triangulation—cross-checking data sources.

Question 12

What is authenticity in qualitative research?

Answer 12

Authenticity focuses on fairly and accurately representing participants’ experiences and voices.

Question 13

What are the components of authenticity according to Lincoln and Guba (1986)?

Answer 13

1. Fairness—considering multiple perspectives.
2. Ontological Authenticity—helping participants gain deeper insight.
3. Catalytic Authenticity—encouraging action.

Question 14

What are Creswell’s procedural criteria for qualitative research?

Answer 14

Creswell suggests using at least two strategies such as triangulation, member-checking, peer review, or thick description to enhance research quality.

Question 15

What is triangulation in qualitative research?

Answer 15

Using multiple data sources, methods, or investigators to confirm findings and enhance credibility.

Question 16

What is reflexivity in qualitative research?

Answer 16

Researchers reflecting on their role, biases, and influence on data collection and interpretation.

Question 17

What is thick description in qualitative research?

Answer 17

Providing detailed, vivid accounts of the research context to enhance the applicability of findings.

Question 18

What is member-checking in qualitative research?

Answer 18

Participants reviewing and verifying the accuracy of research findings.

Question 19

What is negative case analysis in qualitative research?

Answer 19

Including data that does not fit the emerging patterns to refine theories and ensure robustness.

Question 20

What is prolonged engagement in qualitative research?

Answer 20

Spending extensive time with participants to build trust and fully understand their context.

Question 21

What are some challenges in meeting quality criteria in qualitative research?

Answer 21

1. Time-consuming data collection and analysis.
2. Researcher bias challenges.
3. Findings may be highly context-specific, limiting generalizability.

Question 22

What are the strengths of ensuring quality criteria in qualitative research?

Answer 22

1. Enhances confidence in findings.
2. Encourages ethical and rigorous research.
3. Ensures findings are deeply rooted in participants’ realities.

Question 23

What are the weaknesses of quality criteria in qualitative research?

Answer 23

1. Time-intensive process.
2. Subjectivity—researcher bias may still influence findings.
3. Context-specific nature limits broad applicability.

Question 24

Provide an example of quality criteria application in healthcare research.

Answer 24

A study on nurses’ experiences during COVID-19 using triangulation (interviews, observations, policy documents) and reflexivity.

Question 25

Provide an example of quality criteria application in educational research.

Answer 25

A study on teachers’ perceptions of inclusive education using prolonged engagement (classroom observations) and member-checking.