how do you ensure dependability in qualitative research

Reliability tests for qualitative research can be established by techniques like:

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What does dependability mean in qualitative research?

the consistency and reliabilityDependability refers to the consistency and reliability of the research findings and the degree to which research procedures are documented, allowing someone outside the research to follow, audit, and critique the research process (Sandelowski 1986, Polit et al. 2006, Streubert 2007).

How do you show dependability in research?

To be accepted as trustworthy, qualitative researchers must demonstrate that data analysis has been conducted in a precise, consistent, and exhaustive manner through recording, sys- tematizing, and disclosing the methods of analysis with enough detail to enable the reader to determine whether the process is credible.

Why is dependability important in qualitative research?

Dependability is important to trustworthiness because it establishes the research study's findings as consistent and repeatable. Researchers aim to verify that their findings are consistent with the raw data they collected.

How can the researcher establish the dependability of results?

A qualitative researcher can use inquiry audit in order to establish dependability, which requires an outside person to review and examine the research process and the data analysis in order to ensure that the findings are consistent and could be repeated.

Is dependability the same as reliability in research?

In order to estimate reliability, quantitative researchers construct various hypothetical notions (e.g., true score theory) to try to get around this fact. The idea of dependability, on the other hand, emphasizes the need for the researcher to account for the ever-changing context within which research occurs.

How will you ensure the trustworthiness of the results?

To ensure the trustworthiness and especially credibility of the results, it is important to evaluate how well categories cover the data and identify whether there are similarities within and differences between categories.

How would you describe dependability?

Being dependable means that you do what you say you will, when you say you will. You can be trusted to complete any task, and you will do it well. A dependable person builds trust by holding him/herself accountable, and if they lead others, holding their team members accountable as well.

Why is being dependable important?

Knowing that someone will not only show up, but show up on time, helps us trust each other. Following through on our promises is a way that people know that they can trust and depend on us. Being dependable and reliable tells others that their time is important and that we respect them.

What dependability means?

capable of being trusted or depended on: capable of being trusted or depended on : reliable. a dependable source of income. a dependable assistant. needs a dependable car for work.

How do you ensure trustworthiness in quantitative research?

For quantitative researchers, the methods used to establish trustworthiness include internal validity, external validity, reliability, and objectivity.

How do you ensure validity and reliability in quantitative research?

How to ensure validity and reliability in your research. The reliability and validity of your results depends on creating a strong research design, choosing appropriate methods and samples, and conducting the research carefully and consistently.

What does dependability in research mean?

Dependability involves participantsT evaluation of the findings, interpretation and recommendations of the study such that all are supported by the data as received from participants of the study. Confirmability The degree to which the findings of the research study could be confirmed by other researchers.

How would you describe dependability?

Being dependable means that you do what you say you will, when you say you will. You can be trusted to complete any task, and you will do it well. A dependable person builds trust by holding him/herself accountable, and if they lead others, holding their team members accountable as well.

What is the difference between dependability and credibility?

Credibility refers to whether something can be believed as true and accurate. Reliability, on the other hand, refers to relying on someone or something or being able to have trust and faith. It is true that the two terms are similar to a certain extent, but they are not synonymous.

Why is being dependable important?

Knowing that someone will not only show up, but show up on time, helps us trust each other. Following through on our promises is a way that people know that they can trust and depend on us. Being dependable and reliable tells others that their time is important and that we respect them.

What is dependability in qualitative research?

In other words, dependability is an evaluation of the quality of the integrated processes of data collection, data analysis, and theory generation.

Why is a qualitative study dependable?

Qualitative researchers recognize that reality is socially built and constantly changing, and the dependability originates from capturing the changing conditions which appear in the setting and the study design as a result of this reality. As stated by Lincoln and Guba, a dependable study needs to be accurate and consistent.

How can dependability be improved?

Dependability could also be improved by means of triangulation to make sure that the weak points of one approach to data collection are reimbursed by the use of alternate data-gathering methods.

What are the two ways to evaluate the reliability of data?

Two ways of evaluating dependability of data include stepwise replication and inquiry audit.

What is the use of fellow workers and methodological experts to examine the research plan and execution?

The use of fellow workers and methodological experts to examine the research plan and execution is yet another way of guaranteeing dependability in qualitative research.

What is the importance of communication in stepwise replication?

A crucial factor in undertaking stepwise replication is that communication among teams and team members is vital. There should be a provision for communication on a regular basis and at preset points in the research process.

Why should qualitative research be included in the design of a qualitative research?

This approach should be included in the design of a qualitative research to improve dependability. Two research teams deal individually with data which have been split, and the results are contrasted.

How does qualitative research help in primary care?

Five qualitative studies are chosen to illustrate how various methodologies of qualitative research helped in advancing primary healthcare, from novel monitoring of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) via mobile-health technology ,[1] informed decision for colorectal cancer screening,[2] triaging out-of-hours GP services,[3] evaluating care pathways for community psychiatry[4] and finally prioritization of healthcare initiatives for legislation purposes at national levels.[5] With the recent advances of information technology and mobile connecting device, self-monitoring and management of chronic diseases via tele-health technology may seem beneficial to both the patient and healthcare provider. Recruiting COPD patients who were given tele-health devices that monitored lung functions, Williams et al.[1] conducted phone interviews and analyzed their transcripts via a grounded theory approach, identified themes which enabled them to conclude that such mobile-health setup and application helped to engage patients with better adherence to treatment and overall improvement in mood. Such positive findings were in contrast to previous studies, which opined that elderly patients were often challenged by operating computer tablets,[6] or, conversing with the tele-health software.[7] To explore the content of recommendations for colorectal cancer screening given out by family physicians, Wackerbarth, et al.[2] conducted semi-structure interviews with subsequent content analysis and found that most physicians delivered information to enrich patient knowledge with little regard to patients’ true understanding, ideas, and preferences in the matter. These findings suggested room for improvement for family physicians to better engage their patients in recommending preventative care. Faced with various models of out-of-hours triage services for GP consultations, Egbunike et al.[3] conducted thematic analysis on semi-structured telephone interviews with patients and doctors in various urban, rural and mixed settings. They found that the efficiency of triage services remained a prime concern from both users and providers, among issues of access to doctors and unfulfilled/mismatched expectations from users, which could arouse dissatisfaction and legal implications. In UK, a care pathways model for community psychiatry had been introduced but its benefits were unclear. Khandaker et al.[4] hence conducted a qualitative study using semi-structure interviews with medical staff and other stakeholders; adopting a grounded-theory approach, major themes emerged which included improved equality of access, more focused logistics, increased work throughput and better accountability for community psychiatry provided under the care pathway model. Finally, at the US national level, Mangione-Smith et al.[5] employed a modified Delphi method to gather consensus from a panel of nominators which were recognized experts and stakeholders in their disciplines, and identified a core set of quality measures for children's healthcare under the Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program. These core measures were made transparent for public opinion and later passed on for full legislation, hence illustrating the impact of qualitative research upon social welfare and policy improvement.

What is qualitative research?

The essence of qualitative research is to make sense of and recognize patterns among words in order to build up a meaningful picture without compromising its richness and dimensionality. Like quantitative research, the qualitative research aims to seek answers for questions of “how, where, when who and why” with a perspective to build a theory or refute an existing theory. Unlike quantitative research which deals primarily with numerical data and their statistical interpretations under a reductionist, logical and strictly objective paradigm, qualitative research handles nonnumerical information and their phenomenological interpretation, which inextricably tie in with human senses and subjectivity. While human emotions and perspectives from both subjects and researchers are considered undesirable biases confounding results in quantitative research, the same elements are considered essential and inevitable, if not treasurable, in qualitative research as they invariable add extra dimensions and colors to enrich the corpus of findings. However, the issue of subjectivity and contextual ramifications has fueled incessant controversies regarding yardsticks for quality and trustworthiness of qualitative research results for healthcare.

What are the three gold criteria for qualitative and quantitative research?

In summary, the three gold criteria of validity, reliability and generalizability apply in principle to assess quality for both quantitative and qualitative research, what differs will be the nature and type of processes that ontologically and epistemologically distinguish between the two.

What is reliability in research?

Reliability. In quantitative research, reliability refers to exact replicability of the processes and the results. In qualitative research with diverse paradigms, such definition of reliability is challenging and epistemologically counter-intuitive.

Is qualitative research a unified field?

Despite various measures to enhance or ensure quality of qualitative studies, some researchers opined from a purist ontological and epistemological angle that qualitative research is not a unified, but ipso facto diverse field ,[8] hence any attempt to synthesize or appraise different studies under one system is impossible and conceptually wrong. Barbour argued from a philosophical angle that these special measures or “technical fixes” (like purposive sampling, multiple-coding, triangulation, and respondent validation) can never confer the rigor as conceived.[11] In extremis, Rolfe et al.opined from the field of nursing research, that any set of formal criteria used to judge the quality of qualitative research are futile and without validity, and suggested that any qualitative report should be judged by the form it is written (aesthetic) and not by the contents (epistemic).[41] Rolfe's novel view is rebutted by Porter,[42] who argued via logical premises that two of Rolfe's fundamental statements were flawed: (i) “The content of research report is determined by their forms” may not be a fact, and (ii) that research appraisal being “subject to individual judgment based on insight and experience” will mean those without sufficient experience of performing research will be unable to judge adequately – hence an elitist's principle. From a realism standpoint, Porter then proposes multiple and open approaches for validity in qualitative research that incorporate parallel perspectives[43,44] and diversification of meanings.[44] Any work of qualitative research, when read by the readers, is always a two-way interactive process, such that validity and quality has to be judged by the receiving end too and not by the researcher end alone.

Is qualitative research the same as quantitative research?

In general practice, qualitative research contributes as significantly as quantitative research, in particular regarding psycho-social aspects of patient-care, health services provision, policy setting, and health administrations. In contrast to quantitative research, qualitative research as a whole has been constantly critiqued, if not disparaged, ...

Is generalizability of qualitative research findings expected?

Most qualitative research studies, if not all, are meant to study a specific issue or phenomenon in a certain population or ethnic group, of a focused locality in a particular context, hence generalizability of qualitative research findings is usually not an expected attribute.

How can transferability be applied to research?

Ways in which transferability can be applied by researchers include: Using the same data collection methods with different demographic groups or geographical locations. Giving a range of experiences on which the reader can build interventions and understanding to decide whether the research is applicable to practice.

When does dependability occur?

Related to reliability in quantitative terms, dependability occurs when another researcher can follow the decision trail used by the researcher. This trail is achieved by:

Why is rigor important in qualitative research?

Rigor, in qualitative terms, is a way to establish trust or confidence in the findings of a research study. It allows the researcher to establish consistency in the methods used over time.

What is the ability to transfer research findings or methods from one group to another?

Transferability. The ability to transfer research findings or methods from one group to another is called transferability in qualitative language, equivalent to external validity. One way of establishing transferability is to provide a dense description of the population studied by describing the demographics and geographic boundaries of the study.

Why do we conduct a step-by-step repetition of the study?

Conducting a step-by-step repetition of the study to identify similarities in results or to enhance findings

What are some examples of studies that are credible?

Examples of strategies used to establish credibility include: Reflexivity. Member checking (aka informant feedback) Peer examination. Peer debriefing.

What is the purpose of following rather than leading in an interview?

Following, rather than leading, the direction of interviews by asking for clarifications when needed

What is reliability in qualitative research?

Reliability is a concept that simply does not apply to qualitative social research. It relates to the ability to get the same results if you repeat an observation, test, experiment, etc. You can get reasonable reliability in qualitative chemical research (e.g. litmus tests) because you are only observing one variable and you know the range of values; but even there differentiation between colours is problematic and varies with the observer.

Why is qualitative research important?

The very purpose of qualitative research is to increase our understanding of the universe often in topics that have yet to be or many never be reliably investigated in a quantitative sense. Astronomers first take a qualitative picture of star patterns before being able to focus on a particular star seen first qualitatively before one can devise methods for studying it quantitatively. We search the world for new plants and animals, first describing them qualitatively with meta-data before we decide whether they are truly a new species and worthy of further qualitative or quantitative study. The reliability of our qualitative research depends on our methods of recording what we research. Contemporary notes, images and recordings ensure the reliability. Memory of anecdotal experiences should be denigrated. Artificial intelligence (AI) is being applied to extract reliability from qualitative text, images and dynamic processes such as driving situations. In AI reliability depends upon vast experience with qualitative reality allowing algorithms to ensure the reliability of interpretation. Is it a ‘cat’ or ‘not-a-cat’? How do you compute that? Besides having experienced things called cats you need to know what is ‘not-a-cat’, especially when you are minding children in the ‘cat’ house of a zoo.

What is intercoder reliability?

Inter-Coder reliability is also known as interrater or interjudge reliability. It is used for various types of Thematic Analysis and Sentiment Analysis. It is a combination of social science and statistics. Below are many of the two methods for Statistical Qualitative Analysis.

What is quantitative research?

Quantitative research is “explaining phenomena by collecting numerical data that are analysed using mathematically based methods (in particular statistics).”The data produced are always numerical, and they are analysed using mathematical and statistical methods. If there are no numbers involved, then it’s not quantitative research.Some phenomena obviously lend themselves to quantitative analysis because they are already available as numbers. Examples include changes in achievement at various stages of education, or the increase in number of senior managers holding management degrees. However,

What is grounded theory?

There is also something called grounded theory where you interview people and code the interviews so you can look for trends (quantitative data). This is in place of reading through the literature to create a hypothesis. You do this iteratively until you have inductively created a form of hypothesis to go off of. The idea being that you can create a more unbiased analysis that way. (There are definitely criticisms of this methodology.)

What would happen if one asked all the members of a population regarding, say, political affiliation, and then queries?

If one queried all the members of a population regarding, say, political affiliation, and then queries them a second time, unless some respondents lied or changed their mind, one would get the same results, both times (reliability).

Is reliability important in qualitative research?

Notions of reliability are not relevant or important in most qualitative research. You are not, or should not, be trying to generate generalisable rules, you are trying to understand a complex set of issues from the viewpoint of a particular group of people.

Why do qualitative researchers need to provide thick descriptions of the data, setting, and participants?

To promote transferability, qualitative researchers can provide thick description of the data, setting, and participants (Lincoln & Guba, 1986). As just noted, providing this level of detail allows those who read your study to determine for themselves whether and to what degree your findings are transferable to other related settings. A great description of this process follows:

What is the qualitative equivalent of reliability and validity?

Answering this real need, qualitative researchers have proposed trustworthiness as the qualitative equivalent to reliability and validity in quantitative research.

What is Trustworthiness?

Trustworthiness is often described as the equivalent of reliability and validity within the naturalistic research arena (Lincoln & Guba, 1986). Naturalistic research is concerned with phenomena as they exist in their natural settings, and qualitative research methods are perfectly suited for exploring such phenomena. These phenomena might be behavioral patterns one can observe or perspectives that a researcher can learn about through interviews. Whatever the topic of interest, though, the naturalistic researcher is always concerned with understanding existing phenomena (e.g., thoughts, feelings, experiences).

What are the dimensions of scientific rigor?

To address these four major dimensions of scientific rigor in the qualitative research paradigm, Lincoln and Guba (1986) proposed a set of qualitative analogs: credibility, transferability, confirmability, and dependability . These four key dimensions of trustworthiness will be covered in the next sections of this article, as well as particular procedures you can build into your methods for each. If you are considering using a qualitative research method for your dissertation—as so many of our dissertation consulting clients are—then it will definitely help to get familiar with the general concept of trustworthiness as well as the specific practices that can be used to build your study’s rigor.

How is sample selection used in qualitative research?

In qualitative research, however, the rationale for sample selection follows a different logic than in quantitative research. Qualitative researchers commonly select participants in a purposive manner, which means that we select only those individuals who have the specific backgrounds or characteristic necessary to provide rich and in-depth insights into the research questions that drive the study (Robinson, 2014). Shenton explained that “since the findings of a qualitative project are specific to a small number of particular environments and individuals, it is impossible to demonstrate that the findings and conclusions are applicable to other situations” (p. 69). However, it is possible to provide information that allows readers to assess the degree to which your findings might transfer to their own settings of interest.

Why do you need a dissertation consultant?

One very good reason why you might want a dissertation consultant is that you don’t have the time or inclination for a “do-over” if your study turns out to be impractical to conduct.

What is the conversion of human perception to quantified variables?

The conversion of human perception to quantified variables, however, involves a collection of procedures that contribute in various ways to the quality of quantitative research. You have probably heard of the concepts of reliability and validity in your methods courses, and perhaps you have come across studies that describe the complex process of validating a survey instrument. Maybe you have learned about how specific sampling practices can help to increase confidence in the accuracy and generalizability of a study’s statistical analysis results.

Why is qualitative research so obscure?

However, in qualitative studies, this concept is more obscure because it is put in different terms. Since qualitative researchers do not use instruments with established metrics about validity and reliability, it is pertinent to address how qualitative researchers establish that the research study’s findings are credible, transferable, confirmable, ...

Why do qualitative researchers need to provide an audit trail?

To establish confirmability, qualitative researchers can provide an audit trail, which highlights every step of data analysis that was made in order to provide a rationale for the decisions made . This helps establish that the research study’s findings accurately portray participants’ responses.

What is the definition of credibility in qualitative research?

Credibility is the how confident the qualitative researcher is in the truth of the research study’s findings. This boils down to the question of “How do you know that your findings are true and accurate?” Qualitative researchers can use triangulation to show the research study’s findings are credible.

What is the purpose of triangulation in qualitative research?

Qualitative researchers can use triangulation to show the research study’s findings are credible. Transferability is how the qualitative researcher demonstrates that the research study’s findings are applicable to other contexts. In this case, “other contexts” can mean similar situations, similar populations, and similar phenomena.

What is the extent that a study could be repeated by other researchers and that the findings would be consistent?

Finally, dependability is the extent that the study could be repeated by other researchers and that the findings would be consistent. In other words, if a person wanted to replicate your study, they should have enough information from your research report to do so and obtain similar findings as your study did.

How to get a dissertation approved?

Get Your Dissertation Approved 1 Address committee feedback 2 Roadmap to completion 3 Understand your needs and timeframe