
Transferability implies that results of the research study can be applicable to similar situations or individuals. The knowledge which was obtained in context will be relevant in another and investigators who carry out research in another context will be able to utilize certain concepts which were initially developed.
What is transferability in research?
Transferability in research is utilized by the readers of study. Even though generalizability typically is applicable only to certain forms of quantitative methods, transferability can apply in varying degrees to many types of research.
Are results transferable in qualitative research?
Despite the fact that transferability in qualitative research appears to be an obvious, natural, and crucial way of utilizing research results and findings, it is not regarded as a valid research approach in some academic groups.
What is the role of the reader in transferability?
The Reader's Role: The role of readers in transferability is to apply the methods or results of a study to their own situation. In doing so, readers must take into account differences between the situation outlined by the researcher and their own.
What is the difference between transferability and generalizability?
However, a transferable study is not always generalizable. For example, in case studies, transferability allows readers the option of applying results to outside contexts, whereas generalizability is basically impossible because one person or a small group of people is not necessarily representative of the larger population.

What is the purpose of transferability?
Transferability refers to the degree to which the results of qualitative research can be generalized or transferred to other contexts or settings. From a qualitative perspective transferability is primarily the responsibility of the one doing the generalizing.
What is transferability research?
The transferability of a research finding is the extent to which it can be applied in other contexts and studies. It is thus equivalent to or a replacement for the terms generalizability and external validity.
What is transferability in qualitative research example?
Transferability The degree to which the results of qualitative research can be transferred to other contexts or settings with other respondents. The researcher facilitates the transferability judgment by a potential user through thick description. Dependability The stability of findings over time.
What is an example of transferability?
Therefore, a generalizable study can also be transferable. For example, a researcher may generalize the results of a survey of 350 people in a university to the university population as a whole; readers of the results may apply, or transfer, the results to their own situation.
What is transferability in assessment?
Transferability is a process of assessing the potential of a successful implementation of a measure in a city. The process analyses various factors influencing potential implementation and learning from the experiences of a city that has already implemented the measure.
Which is used to support the transferability of qualitative research findings?
The term generalizability, used in quantitative research, is analogous to the term transferability in qualitative research, which is the extent to which qualitative findings can be transferred to or have applicability in other settings or groups.
What is the difference between transferability and generalizability?
Generalizability and Transferability: Synthesis. Generalizability allows us to form coherent interpretations in any situation, and to act purposefully and effectively in daily life. Transferability gives us the opportunity to sort through given methods and conclusions to decide what to apply to our own circumstances.
How do you ensure reliability in qualitative research?
Reliability tests for qualitative research can be established by techniques like:refutational analysis,use of comprehensive data,constant testing and comparison of data,use of tables to record data,as well as the use of inclusive of deviant cases.
How do you ensure trustworthiness 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 it important to increase generalizability of research findings?
Once a research outcomes look promising more and more researcher s want to replicate such studies to authenticate the findings. The results thus become more generalizable to the overall similar populations universally. The findings thus help in the development of theories and establishment of hypothesis.
Why is Confirmability important in research?
The confirmability criterion of Trustworthiness may be the easiest one to establish, as it is just a matter of about explaining the decisions that are being made in the research process. These details can help provide valuable insight for readers to understand how the themes emerged from the data.
What is the importance of generalizability in research?
Generalizability is the measure of how useful the results of a study are for a larger group of people or situations. Generalizability in research is important because the conclusions drawn from the research study should be able to be applied from the sample population to the general population at large.
What is transferability in qualitative 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. It is important to note that you as the ...
What is scientific method?
The scientific method—i.e., the method used in dissertations—is based, in part, on the ability of others to replicate your study. Specifically, in order to faithfully replicate your study, other researchers must know the Who, What, Where, When, and How of your study. While there are nuanced difference in the details between qualitative ...
Is thick description a qualitative technique?
Thick description may sound familiar to those who have taken a methodology course that included a review of ethnography, and good for you for remembering that! It is actually a technique that ethnographic researchers use extensively, but it is a technique that other qualitative researchers can use as well.
What is transferability in qualitative research?
We can define transferability in qualitative research as the degree to which the results of a research can apply or transfer beyond the bounds of the project. Transferability implies that results of the research study can be applicable to similar situations or individuals.
Why is it important to describe a phenomenon under study?
It is crucial that adequate thick description of the phenomenon under study is given to allow audience to have a proper understanding of it , thus enabling them to compare the instances of the phenomenon explained in the research document with those that they have seen emerge in their situations.
Can a naturalist specify the external validity of an enquiry?
Lincoln and Guba say that “as the naturalist can’t specify the external validity of an enquiry, she can only give a tick description essential to enable someone interested in making transfer to reach a conclusion about whether a transfer can be contemplated as a possibility”. Transferability in research is utilized by the readers of study.
Is it difficult to develop a preoccupation with transferability?
It isn’t difficult for research workers to develop a preoccupation with transferability. In the end, the results of a qualitative research must be understood within the context of the specific characteristics of the business or organisations and, perhaps, physical location where the fieldwork was performed. To be able to evaluate the extent ...
Can results be transferred?
But, it is crucial for audience of research to bear in mind that results cannot always be transferred; a result which happens in one situation is not going to necessarily occur in an identical situation. For that reason, it is advisable to consider variations between situations and customize the research process appropriately.
Can qualitative research be applied to other situations?
As the results of a qualitative study are specific to a small number of environments and people, it is extremely hard to show that the conclusions and findings can be applied to other situations and populations.
What is transferability in research?
Transferability is a process performed by readers of research. Readers note the specifics of the research situation and compare them to the specifics of an environment or situation with which they are familiar. If there are enough similarities between the two situations, readers may be able to infer that the results of the research would be the same or similar in their own situation. In other words, they "transfer" the results of a study to another context. To do this effectively, readers need to know as much as possible about the original research situation in order to determine whether it is similar to their own. Therefore, researchers must supply a highly detailed description of their research situation and methods.
Why is generalizability important?
In essence, then, both generalizability and transferability allow us to make comparisons between situations. For example, we can generalize that most people in the United States will drive on the right side of the road, but we cannot transfer this conclusion to England or Australia without finding ourselves in a treacherous situation. It is important, therefore, to always consider context when generalizing or transferring results.
What is generalizability in statistics?
In many ways, generalizability amounts to nothing more than making predictions based on a recurring experience. If something occurs frequently, we expect that it will continue to do so in the future. Researchers use the same type of reasoning when generalizing about the findings of their studies. Once researchers have collected sufficient data to support a hypothesis, a premise regarding the behavior of that data can be formulated, making it generalizable to similar circumstances. Because of its foundation in probability, however, such a generalization cannot be regarded as conclusive or exhaustive.
What is the second form of generalizability?
If the same positive results are produced, the treatment is generalizable. A second form of generalizability focuses on measurements rather than treatments. For a result to be considered generalizable outside of the test group, it must produce the same results with different forms of measurement.
Why are reports based on these research methods detailed and specific?
However, because they often consider only one subject or one group, researchers who conduct such studies seldom generalize the results to other populations. The detailed nature of the results, however, makes them ideal for transferability.
Is generalizability common to everyday life?
Generalizability is not only common to research, but to everyday life as well. In this section, we establish a practical working definition of generalizability as it is applied within and outside of academic research. We also define and consider three different types of generalizability and some of their probable applications. Finally, we discuss some of the possible shortcomings and limitations of generalizability that researchers must be aware of when constructing a study they hope will yield potentially generalizable results.
Why is it important to understand research results?
Understanding research results can help us understand why and how something happens. However, many researchers believe that such understanding is difficult to achieve in relation to human behaviors which they contend are too difficult to understand and often impossible to predict. "Because of the many and varied ways in which individuals differ from each other and because these differences change over time, comprehensive and definitive experiments in the social sciences are not possible...the most we can ever realistically hope to achieve in educational research is not prediction and control but rather only temporary understanding" (Cziko, 1993, p. 10).
What is the importance of generalizability and transferability?
Interrelationships. Generalizability and transferability are important elements of any research methodology, but they are not mutually exclusive: generalizability, to varying degrees, rests on the transferability of research findings. It is important for researchers to understand the implications of these twin aspects of research ...
What is generalizability in research?
It can be defined as the extension of research findings and conclusions from a study conducted on a sample population to the population at large. While the dependability of this extension is not absolute, it is statistically probable. Because sound generalizability requires data on large populations, quantitative research -- experimental for instance -- provides the best foundation for producing broad generalizability. The larger the sample population, the more one can generalize the results. For example, a comprehensive study of the role computers play in the writing process might reveal that it is statistically probable that students who do most of their composing on a computer will move chunks of text around more than students who do not compose on a computer.
Is the dependability of this extension absolute or probable?
While the dependability of this extension is not absolute, it is statistically probable. Because sound generalizability requires data on large populations, quantitative research -- experimental for instance -- provides the best foundation for producing broad generalizability.
What is transferability in qualitative 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. Click to see full answer.
What does it mean when there are enough similarities between two situations?
In other words, they "transfer" the results of a study to another context.
What is transferability in qualitative research?
Transferability refers to the degree to which the results of qualitative research can be generalized or transferred to other contexts or settings. From a qualitative perspective transferability is primarily the responsibility of the one doing the generalizing.
How can qualitative research enhance transferability?
The qualitative researcher can enhance transferability by doing a thorough job of describing the research context and the assumptions that were central to the research. The person who wishes to “transfer” the results to a different context is then responsible for making the judgment of how sensible the transfer is.
What is transferability in psychology?
Transferability is an element of qualitative validity, which is the equivalent of quantitative validity and reliability. Qualitative reliability includes credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. Specifically, according to Trochim, transferability is defined as:

Generalizability
Transferability
- Transferability describes the process of applying the results of research in one situation to other similar situations. In this section, we establish a practical working definition of transferability as it's applied within and outside of academic research. We also outline important considerations researchers must be aware of in order to make their ...
Generalizability and Transferability: Synthesis
- Generalizability allows us to form coherent interpretations in any situation, and to act purposefully and effectively in daily life. Transferability gives us the opportunity to sort through given methods and conclusions to decide what to apply to our own circumstances. In essence, then, both generalizability and transferability allow us to make comparisons between situations. For exam…
Applications to Research Methods
- The degree to which generalizability and transferability are applicable differs from methodology to methodology as well as from study to study. Researchers need to be aware of these degrees so that results are not undermined by over-generalizations, and readers need to ensure that they do not read researched results in such a way that the results are misapplied or misinterpreted.
The Qualitative Versus Quantitative Debate
- In Miles and Huberman's 1994 book Qualitative Data Analysis, quantitative researcher Fred Kerlinger is quoted as saying, "There's no such thing as qualitative data. Everything is either 1 or 0" (p. 40). To this another researcher, D. T. Campbell, asserts "all research ultimately has a qualitative grounding" (p. 40). This back and forth banter among qualitative and quantitative res…
Annotated Bibliography
- Babbie, Earl R. (1979). The practice of social research. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc. Berkenkotter, C., Huckin, T.N., & Ackerman, J. (1988). Conventions, conversations, and the writer: Case study of a student in a rhetoric Ph.D. program. Research in the Teaching of English22 (1), 9-44. Black, Susan. (1996). Redefining the teacher's role. Executive Educator,18(8), 23-26. Bl…