Consider how this could reflect on the credibility and integrity of the individuals involved the university and the profession
Consider how this could reflect on the credibility and integrity of the individuals involved the university and the profession
Assessing the reliability of study findings requires researchers and health professionals to make judgements about the ‘soundness’ of the research in relation to the application and appropriateness of the methods undertaken and the integrity of the final conclusions. Qualitative research is frequently criticised for lacking scientific rigour with poor justification of the methods adopted, lack of transparency in the analytical procedures and the findings being merely a collection of personal opinions subject to researcher bias.2 ,3 For the novice researcher, demonstrating rigour when undertaking qualitative research is challenging because there is no of accepted consensus about the standards by which such research should be judged.2
Although the tests and measures used to establish the validity and reliability of quantitative research cannot be applied to qualitative research, there are ongoing debates about whether terms such as validity, reliability and generalisability are appropriate to evaluate qualitative research.2–4 In the broadest context these terms are applicable, with validity referring to the integrity and application of the methods undertaken and the precision in which the findings accurately reflect the data, while reliability describes consistency within the employed analytical procedures.4 However, if qualitative methods are inherently different from quantitative methods in terms of philosophical positions and purpose, then alterative frameworks for establishing rigour are appropriate.3 Lincoln and Guba5 offer alternative criteria for demonstrating rigour within qualitative research namely truth value, consistency and neutrality and applicability. Table 1 outlines the differences in terminology and criteria used to evaluate qualitative research.
