In the following, we'll explore how the researcher conducting qualitative research becomes responsible for maintaining the rigor and credibility of various aspects of the research. In a way, this is analogous to the role statistics, validated and reliable instruments, and standardized measures and methods play in quantitative research.
Objectives
After reviewing this document, you will be able to:
Recall from other qualitative courses that qualitative researchers are as concerned about the integrity of their research as quantitative researchers, but they face different challenges. Before examining how the researcher is key to research integrity in qualitative research, let's note some terminology differences between the methodologies. The below provides them at a glance. These are terms related to research integrity:
In Quantitative: designs, validity, reliability, and generalizability (or external validity) are based on the integrity of the design, and of the methods, and instruments used, and only to a lesser extent to the person of the researcher.
In Qualitative: on the other hand, credibility, dependability, and transferability rely on the person and performance of the researcher.
This is why we talk about the role of the researcher in qualitative research.
The Integrity of the Research Equals The Integrity of the Researcher
Of course, this is true of both quantitative and qualitative research. Researchers make errors, and these threaten the validity, reliability, and utility of their studies.
Qualitative researchers, however, lack many of the protections against errors that the statistical methods, standardized measures, and classical designs afford. They must rely on their own competence, openness, and honesty. That is, on their person. Thus, their role, the role of the researcher is more open to scrutiny.
Bias is a source of error. When a quantitative researcher administers a standardized test, bias is less a problem than when a qualitative researcher has a conversation with a participant. Why?
The researcher's ideas—about the study, her knowledge, about the topic from the literature review, hopes for the study, and simply human distractibility—crop up constantly and can distort what she hears. Confirmation bias—(the name for this) afflicts quantitative researchers, too, but more often when they are analyzing data and seeing what they are disposed to see. Qualitative researchers, whose human brains are trained to find meaning in everything, encounter confirmation bias in every interaction with both participants and data.
Therefore, monitoring and reducing one's disposition to interpret too quickly is an essential part of the researcher's role. Qualitative researchers have evolved a variety of methods for this, such as the famous phenomenological reduction and epoché, but every design within qualitative methodology requires an explicit description of how the researcher will remain conscious of his or her previous knowledge and dispositions and how he or she will control the intrusion of bias.
For example, many qualitative researchers practice mindfulness meditation as a means to become aware when their thoughts are about previous knowledge rather than open and receptive to the information from the participant.
Role of Researcher: Developing Competence in Methods
Many novice researchers think they are competent to do qualitative research. Unfortunately, they are usually wrong.
Qualitative methods, like quantitative methods, require implementing specialized skills correctly. Competence in these skills is required at all these points:
This competence is not taught in most methods courses; novice researchers are often expected to obtain training and practice on their own. What should they do?
Here are some ideas, although they are not prescriptions and you may find many other ways to develop competence.
The first step: is to self-assess your competence. Assume you do not have competence in each of the skill areas unless you have demonstrated it to someone who knows. If you perform interviews of clients, for example, but have never been taught to do interviews for research, assume you do not have the competence until a researcher who uses interviews tells you that you do.
The next step: is to talk with your mentor— about a plan to get training. For example, many learners who need to demonstrate competence in qualitative interviews do a few practice interviews and ask their mentors to critique their technique. The coaching not only amounts to a kind of training, but the mentor can then attest to the researcher's baseline competence. Another common plan is to attend training workshops in the actual design—such as grounded theory—conducted in research organizations or universities.
For each skill set your design requires you to have, including practicing the analysis methods, create a training plan that includes demonstrating competence to someone.
Is this more work? Maybe so, maybe not. If you were conducting a multiple regression analysis and did not know how to do that, you'd have to learn it, practice it, and demonstrate your competence to someone. So, it's all a matter of perspective.
Role of Researcher: Collecting and Analyzing Data
There are far too many complications in collecting and analyzing qualitative data to cover in this presentation. Have you ever:
These are but a few of the challenges that the qualitative researcher faces. Are you ready? Probably not. What should you do?
Most of us present findings in writing. While a few will also present their findings in posters and oral presentations, everyone in Track 3 will at least present them in writing.
Develop and demonstrate competence in writing!
Dr. James Meredith of the Capella Writing Program points out that you have to write your way out of the doctoral program.
Capella makes an extraordinary effort to provide support and instruction in scholarly writing, primarily through the Capella Writing Program and the Online Writing Center. Failing to take advantage of all these resources will result in your findings being sent back to you for revision. Why waste the time? Right now, you can and should start to make use of:
We've covered the importance of evaluating your own role as the researcher, in the various elements of a qualitative study:
Thank you!
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