Rigour And Trustworthiness Flashcards
Why is rigour important?
Doing it properly and being able to demonstrate what you have done, eliminate all sources of error or reporting if not possible
Where is rigour important in the research process?
- all stages!!!
- need a transparent audit trail
What is the language of rigour or trustworthiness for quantitative research?
- validity
- reliability
- generalisability
What is the language of rigour or trustworthiness for qualitative research?
- dependability
- credibility
- transferability
- confirmability
What is validity? (rigour in quantitative)
- does it measure what it says it does?
- are results biased or distorted? - by poor design or unexpected events during research
What is reliability? (Rigour in quantitative research)
- does it do what it says it does, time and time again? - overall study design and individual measures within the study
How do you assess validity and reliability in a literature review in quantitative research?
Validity - matches research process
Reliability - search can be repeated to yield same results
Considerations - sources
How do you assess validity and reliability in data collection tools in quantitative research?
Validity - suits they research design and reduces bias
Reliability - a different sample, selected the same way and produced the same results
Considerations - purposive/random selection criteria size
How do you assess validity and reliability in data collection process in quantitative research?
Validity - the best methods for the study design
Reliability - if repeated will gather similar data
Considerations - how, who, where, when
How do you assess validity and reliability in data input in quantitative research?
Validity - suits study design
Reliability - error reduction
Considerations - how, who
How do you assess validity and reliability in data analysis in quantitative research?
Validity - statistical
Reliability - can be repeated
Considerations - how
How do you assess validity and reliability in reporting in quantitative research?
Validity - detail of processes
Reliability - enables repetition
Considerations - limitations
What is generalisability?
- the relevance and applicability of findings to a wider population
- can mean the whole population or a specific population
- the more convincing the results, the more generalisable they are
What is trustworthiness in qualitative research?
- methodological soundness and adequacy
- theoretical connection between stages of research design
- transparency: audit trail makes procedures explicit
- judged by how dependable, credible, transferable and conformance the research is
What is methodological soundness?
- philosophical bias is appropriate
- subsequent choices about method match the philosophical basis
What is dependability on trustworthiness in qualitative research?
- replaces reliability
- findings are consistent and accurate
- evidence of analysis procedures
- content of research should be described
- audit trail: enables readers to follow decision making
- enables repetition of study by others
What is credibility in trustworthiness in qualitative research?
- replaces validity
- incredible: beyond belief or understanding
- credible: believable, understandable by participants and readers
- findings ring true
What is transferability in trustworthiness in qualitative research?
- replaces generalisability
- findings in one context can be transferred to other similar contexts and retain relevance
- enhanced by thorough description of research processes, context and assumptions
- the transferee makes judgement of how sensible the transfer is
What is confirmability in trustworthiness in qualitative research?
- replaces objectivity
- meaning: able to be shown to be true
- decision and/or audit trail needed
- role, background and feelings of researcher available for scrutiny
- combined with evidence of how themes, constructs and interpretations are reached
- intellectual honesty and openness
What are the strategies to ensure trustworthiness?
- member checking
- outliers
- peer review
- triangulation
- thick description
- reflexivity
What is member checking?
- helps ensure interpretation matches participants perspectives
- has researcher understood?
- traditionally achieved by returning transcripts
- problematic, especially in interpretative methodologies
- alternatives: co-constitute at interview, team analysis/interpretation
What is outliers?
- unlikely that all data will fit neatly together
- evidence of outliers convinces that a more realistic breadth of experience has been recorded
- encourages revision of explanations/interpretations to encompass all findings
What is peer review?
- colleagues familiar with and competent in qualitative procedures re-analyse the raw data and discuss issues raised by researcher
- each reviewer acts independability initially before collaborating to discuss/agree
- consensus developed from this suggests that findings would reflect when anyone else would reasonably see in the data
What is triangulation?
- examining a phenomenon or topic from different perspectives
- commonest technique is methodological triangulation, including: more than one data collection method, mixed methods
What is thick description?
- helps establish the truth value of research
- linked to audit
- indicates the depth of description and detail necessary to enable the reader to exclude quality
What do you need to consider with reflexivity?
- can be emotionally challenging
- not the same as reflection
What is reflection?
Looking back on an experience in order to understand from it
What is reflexivity?
A constant process of self-evaluation during an event in order to understand and manage ones own influence on that event
What is reflexivity in qualitative research?
- researcher connectedness
- managing bias
- designing strategies into the research to minimise negative bias and enhance positive
- being transparent
- enhancing rigour/trustworthiness
What is rigour?
The quality of being extremely thorough and careful in both the conduct and reporting of research so that quality can be assessed and judged by others
