What term in qualitative studies is the analog of external validity in quantitative studies?

Which of the following terms is especially controversial among qualitative researchers?

Validity

Feedback: One of several controversies regarding quality in qualitative studies involves terminology. Some argue that rigor and validity are quantitative terms that are not suitable as goals in qualitative inquiry, but others believe these terms are appropriate. Although not without critics, the criteria often viewed as the “gold standard” for qualitative research are those outlined by Lincoln and Guba (1985). These researchers suggested four criteria for developing the trustworthiness of a qualitative inquiry: credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability.

Which of the following are terms that are considered aspects of trustworthiness within the Lincoln and Guba framework? Select all that apply.

Transferability
Confirmability Dependability

Feedback: Although not without critics, the criteria often viewed as the “gold standard” for qualitative research are those outlined by Lincoln and Guba (1985). These researchers suggested four criteria for developing the trustworthiness of a qualitative inquiry: credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability. Dependability refers to the stability (reliability) of data over time and over conditions.

Dependability in qualitative research is considered the analog of which criterion in quantitative research?

Reliability

Feedback: Dependability refers to the stability of data over time and over conditions and is somewhat analogous to reliability.

The criterion that refers to neutrality or objectivity in qualitative inquiry is which of the following?

Confirmability

Feedback: Confirmability refers to the objectivity of the data.

Which criterion is considered analogous to internal validity in the Lincoln & Guba framework?

Credibility

Feedback: Credibility, which refers to confidence in the truth value of the findings, has been viewed as the qualitative equivalent of internal validity.

If both in-depth interviews and participant observations were used to collect data on a phenomenon in a study, this would be referred to as which of the following?

Method triangulation

Feedback: Triangulation is the process of using multiple referents to draw conclusions about what constitutes the truth. This includes data triangulation (using multiple data sources to validate conclusions) and method triangulation (using multiple methods to collect data about the same phenomenon).

If a researcher studying family response to adolescent suicide interviewed parents and siblings independently, the triangulation approach method would be called which of the following?

Data triangulation

Feedback: Triangulation is the process of using multiple referents to draw conclusions about what constitutes the truth. This includes data triangulation (using multiple data sources to validate conclusions) and method triangulation (using multiple methods to collect data about the same phenomenon). There are three types of data triangulation: time, space, and person.

A member check involves the researcher reviewing data with which of the following?

A study participant

Feedback: In a member check, researchers give participants feedback about emerging interpretations and then obtain participants' reactions.

The maintenance of good, thorough documentation and a decision trail is especially critical in which of the following?

Inquiry audits

Feedback: Strategies for enhancing quality during the coding and analysis of qualitative data include launching an inquiry audit (a formal scrutiny of audit trail documents by an independent auditor); stepwise replication (dividing the research team into two groups that conduct independent inquiries that can be compared and merged); and searching for rival explanations and undertaking a negative case analysis (revising interpretations to account for cases that appear to disconfirm early conclusions). Strategies for enhancing quality during qualitative data collection include member checks (asking study participants to review and react to study data and emerging conceptualizations).

A quality-enhancement strategy about which there is considerable controversy is which of the following?

Member checks

Feedback: Few strategies for enhancing data quality are as controversial as member checking. Nevertheless, it is a strategy that has the potential to enhance credibility if it is done in a manner that encourages candor and critical appraisal by participants.

The term trustworthiness in qualitative research parallels which of the following terms used in quantitative research? Select all that apply.

Validity
Reliability

Feedback: Lincoln and Guba (1985) created standards for the trustworthiness of qualitative research that parallel the standards of reliability and validity in quantitative research.

Which of the following is characteristic of qualitative research? Select all that apply.

It is consistent with the constructivist paradigm of inquiry. It generates causal hypotheses. It involves an iterative process of interpretation and analysis.

Feedback: Interpretation in qualitative studies sometimes yields hypotheses that can be tested in more controlled quantitative studies. Qualitative studies are well suited to generating causal hypotheses, but not to testing them. In the constructivist paradigm, multiple interpretations of reality exist. The goal of research conducted according to the constructivist paradigm is to understand how individuals construct their own reality. This paradigm is often associated with qualitative research. Interpretation and analysis of qualitative data occur simultaneously, in an iterative process.

Credibility in qualitative research refers to which of the following?

Confidence in the truth value of the data

Feedback: Credibility or the believability of data refers to confidence in the truth value of the data and data interpretation.

Confirmability in qualitative research refers to which of the following?

Objectivity of the interpretation of the data

Feedback: Confirmability refers to objectivity, achieved through congruence or agreement between two or more independent evaluators about the data's accuracy, relevance, or meaning.

The term transferability in qualitative research is similar to which term used in quantitative research?

Generalizability

Feedback: Transferability, analogous to generalizability, is the extent to which qualitative findings can be transferred to or have applicability in other settings or groups.

Which of the following statements about qualitative research methods is true?

Interpretation and analysis of qualitative data typically occur simultaneously.

Feedback: Interpretation and analysis of qualitative data typically occur virtually simultaneously, in an iterative process. Interpretation in qualitative studies sometimes yields hypotheses that can be tested in more controlled quantitative studies.

Which of the following statements about controversies in qualitative research is true?

There is lack of consensus regarding the quality criteria for qualitative inquiry.

Feedback: Establishing a consensus on what the quality criteria for qualitative inquiry should be, and what they should be named, remains elusive, and it is unlikely that a consensus will be achieved in the near future, if ever.

Which of the following is a barrier that qualitative researchers face in demonstrating the trustworthiness of their studies to readers?

Page limitations imposed by journals

Feedback: Adhering to page constraints imposed by journals inevitably reduces the amount of thick description and verbatim accounts that can be reported in qualitative research reports. Page limitations imposed by journals ultimately impact the ability of the researcher to support the authenticity of the study with thick description of the content, and researchers must compromise in how the data is reported.

A nurse-midwife conducted a phenomenology study of the lived experience of women in Haiti who gave birth following the 2010 Haitian earthquake. She collected data from 15 women over a 12-month period of time. Which quality-enhancement strategy is described in this example?

Prolonged engagement

Feedback: Prolonged engagement is the investment of a sufficient amount of time to collect data about a study population to achieve an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon. In this example the researcher spent 12 months interacting with study participants to explore the lived experience of the women.

A nurse working in an adolescent health clinic conducted a grounded theory study related to contraceptive decision-making in Latina youth. She collected data from individual interviews and focus groups. Which of the following quality-enhancement strategies is described in this example?

Data triangulation

Feedback: Data triangulation refers to the use of multiple data sources for the purpose of validating conclusions. In this example the nurse collected data from individual interviews and focus groups.

A nurse working in an inner-city clinic conducted an ethnographic study of sex workers to gain understanding of factors related to HIV risk for these women. After she completed her data collection, she gave three participants feedback about her findings for their review and commentary. Which of the following quality-enhancement strategies is described in this example?

Member checking

Feedback: In member checking, researchers give participants feedback about emerging interpretations and then obtain participants' reactions to those interpretations. This method allows participants to validate whether or not the researchers' interpretations accurately represent their realities.

Which of the following quality-enhancement strategies has the greatest potential for leading to erroneous conclusions about the data?

Member checking

Feedback: Member checking can lead to erroneous conclusions about the data if the participants withhold information or desire to “cover up” the truth about a phenomenon.

In qualitative research, investigator triangulation is comparable to which quantitative research concept?

Inter-rater reliability

Feedback: Investigator triangulation is conceptually analogous to inter-rater reliability in quantitative studies.

The proper rationale for searching for and including disconfirming evidence is which of the following?

To refine a hypothesis or theory

Feedback: Searching for disconfirming evidence is a verification procedure that challenges an explanation or category that has emerged early in data analysis. It occurs concurrently with data collection and analysis.

Which of the following is true of thick description in qualitative research?

It should be implicit in the description of the research context.

Feedback: Thick description refers to a rich, thorough, and vivid description of the research context, the people who participated in the study, and the experiences and processes observed during the inquiry. Thick description includes the free use of verbatim quotes from study participants and contributes to the authenticity of a qualitative study. According to Sandelowski, thick description should be implicit in the description of the research context and the term itself should not be written in the research report. In high-quality qualitative studies, descriptions typically need to go beyond a faithful rendering of information. Powerful description is evocative and has the capacity for emotional impact. Qualitative researchers should, however, avoid misrepresenting their findings by sharing only the most dramatic or sensational stories.

What is the term in qualitative research that is equivalent to external validity in quantitative research?

Transferability in qualitative research is synonymous with generalizability, or external validity, in quantitative research. Transferability is established by providing readers with evidence that the research study's findings could be applicable to other contexts, situations, times, and populations.

What is external validity in qualitative research?

External validity is the extent to which you can generalize the findings of a study to other situations, people, settings and measures.

What is the equivalent of external validity in qualitative terms?

Another term called transferability relates to external validity and refers to a qualitative research design. Transferability refers to whether results transfer to situations with similar characteristics.

What term is the analog of external validity in quantitative studies quizlet?

Transferability, the analog of external validity, is the extent to which findings can be transferred to other settings or groups.