Dependability and Credibility in Qualitative Research

Dependability and Credibility in Qualitative Research

Locate an article on a qualitative study and address the following (250 words):
Describe the type of data collected in the study and how it was collected.
Discuss how the researchers established the dependability, or reliability, of the data.
Discuss how the researchers established the credibility, or validity, of the data. Use the information from the “Validity and Qualitative Research: An Oxymoron?” article assigned in this unit’s studies (linked in Resources). Discuss how the credibility and dependability of the research contribute to the scientific merit of the research.
List the persistent link for your article.
Cite all sources in APA style and provide an APA-formatted reference list at the end of your post.

Response Guidelines

Read the posts of your peers and respond to one, addressing the following (at least 25 words):
Follow the persistent link provided by your peer to read the article being discussed.
Using the language of research, explain how you agree or disagree with your peer’s evaluation, offering your own suggestions for improving the research design.

Peer Post: Christine W.
Article: The Familial Relationships of Former Prisoners: Examining the Link between Residence and Informal Support Mechanisms

1) Participants, which consisted of the former prisoner and a family member, were interviewed via the above mentioned interrogational structure by a research assistant and the first-listed author. Participants were each paid $50 dollars for the interview which was tape-recorded and later transcribed verbatim. Interviews were conducted in a room at the local church and an office at the University of Chicago. There was only one interview conducted per participant which lasted approximately one to two hours and was performed privately and separately.

2) Due to the nature of the study, researchers utilized the concept of social support for analytical emphasis. As such, analyzers used a coding scheme outlined by Wills and Shinar accentuating the five types of support (Cohen, Underwood & Gottlieb, 2000):

A) Emotional Support – those that provide sympathetic listening and indications of care & acceptance to a person having problems

B) Instrumental Support – practical assistance when necessary

C) Informational Support – providing knowledge that is advantageous when solving problems

D) Companionship – individuals available for social and leisure activities

E) Validation – social relationship that can provide feedback and information about behavior propriety.

Interviewers applied an interview method that allowed for the kind of rich detail usually provided through field methods, or “think description” (Geertz, 1973). To appropriately capture the participants’ relationship, experts guided the interview with questions asking participants to describe the former prisoners’ role in the family now, what other family members consider the former prisoners’ role to be and their exchanges with various types of support.

3) In order to establish credibility researchers utilized a triangulation method, more specifically methodological triangulation, which Denzin (1978) noted as a use of multiple study methods to analyze a research problem. Thus, researchers utilized pre-existing empirical information to guide them in every stage of the research process.

A) The research structure followed Spradley’s (1979) Guidelines

B) The interview questions were influenced by Geertz (1973) in order to capture data that provided rich detail consistent with actual field studies

C) The analytical process consisted of a coding scheme guided by Wills and Shinar (2000)

By constructing the study around processes that have been empirically proven to assess the constructs and the research problem, analysts are able to establish dependability and credibility to the investigation. This further enhances the scientific merit of the experiment by utilizing existing measures to evaluate a significant pathological construct. Just like researchers utilized empirically proven measures in this study, now investigators in future inquiries can utilized the techniques and processes established here to add to the overall knowledge of the research question or to analyze similar constructs.

Christine White/ABA

Persistent Link: https://doi-org.library.capella.edu/10.1177/0891241608316875

References:

Capella University. (2017). Scientific Merit. Retrieved from http://media.capella.edu/coursemedia/psy7653/scientificMerit/transcript.html

Cohen, S., Underwood, L., & Gottlieb, B. (2000). Social support measurement and intervention. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Geertz, C. (1973). Thick description: toward an interpretive theory of culture (1st ed.). New York, NY: Basic Books.

Martinez, D., & Christian, J. (2009). The Familial Relationships of Former Prisoners: Examining the Link Between Residence and Informal Support Mechanisms. Journal Of Contemporary Ethnography, 38(2), 201-224. doi: 10.1177/0891241608316875

Onwuegbuzie, A., & Leech, N. (2006). Validity and Qualitative Research: An Oxymoron?. Quality & Quantity, 41(2), 233-249. doi: 10.1007/s11135-006-9000-3