Reading Log #4 - Part 3

Reading Log, Creswell, Chap. 10
Summary:
Creswell is concerned with answering two questions in this chapter: Is the account valid, and by whose standards. He states that researchers have three audiences with which to validate their material as well, the researcher her or himself, the participants of the study, and the reader.

Table 10.1 offers a series of perspectives with regard to validation. These perspectives generally seek to parallel for qualitative research the means used to validate quantitative methodology, though often changing terminology in order to accommodate a more "naturalistic" research agenda.

Creswell himself summarizes his approach to validation as assessing the accuracy of the findings according to the researcher and participant descriptions. He also views validation as a "strength of qualitative research" because of the unique qualities inherent in the methodology, such as length of study, closeness of researcher to participant and the validation strategies employed in such studies.

Validation strategies include: building trust with participants through length of study, triangulation, peer review, negative case analysis, member checking, rich and thick description, and external audits. Creswell recommends that qual. researchers employ at least two of these strategies in any study.

Field notes, transcription, and various coding methods are included in Creswell's description of reliability perspectives. The author then goes on to detail three approaches to qual. evaluation - procedural, postmodern, and interpretive - as well as specific evaluative criteria for each of the five approaches recommended in the book.

Reflection:
As always, Creswell supplies a roadmap for research in each of the five discussed approaches. New researchers may choose a methodology and then use the text as a series of guidelines or steps to follow in creating a study. I find this extremely helpful, both in recognizing the different requirements of each research design, and in understanding the process. The result should be a qualitative study that is organized in a way that defines the study parameters and assures that the accuracy or validity of findings is maintained.