Standards in Evaluating Qualitative Research

Qualitative Research
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Qualitative Research
Evaluating qualitative research is challenging because there are no tested dimensions to compare two studies. Numerous factors in the study design and data collection process can compromise the usefulness of the findings. For instance, potential variability in the study setting, study population, and data collection methods can impact the quality of qualitative research. Similarly, potential variabilities in the study dynamics, like cognitive constructs, geography, participant characteristics, and demographics, can also compromise the usefulness of study findings (Roller, 2011). Furthermore, potential variability in the data collection tools, projective techniques, and interviewer characteristics can negatively impact the quality of the study. The standards researchers should use to evaluate qualitative research related to the four criteria of credibility, transferability, Confirmability, and dependability. Credibility refers to the feasibility and trustworthiness of the study findings. A researcher can verify the credibility of a qualitative study by examining how well the research questions, theory, data collection, data analysis, and findings align with each other.
Moreover, the credibility of the qualitative research can be determined by the appropriateness of the study’s sampling strategy, data depth and volume, and analytical methods. Confirmability is another criterion when evaluating qualitative studies. It refers to the evidence of a clear connection between the data gathered. The researcher’s clarity recognizes Confirmability in describing how they arrived at their findings, such as through the use of interview quotes. On the other hand, transferability refers to the degree to which a study’s findings can be transferred to a different group, setting, or environment. The transferability of a qualitative study is evidenced by the clarity with which the researcher described the context in which the study took place and how the setting influenced the findings. The fourth criterion of dependability relates to the degree to which a qualitative study can be reproduced in comparable research conditions. A study’s dependability can be determined by the ability of another researcher to obtain sufficient information from the study to replicate the research regardless of arriving at possibly different conclusions.
An example of the application of these four standards to current qualitative research in education is the use of a statistical data analysis tool (like R, a free and open source software) to conduct thematic analysis. In qualitative studies involving a large number of data sets and themes, it is often difficult for the researcher to decide where segments of the interview contents fit. To ensure consistency during thematic analysis, the researcher can use a data analysis software to examine and reexamine interview materials while avoiding personal bias. Data analysis software like R provide a framework for iterative coding thereby f...