Strategies to Promote Validity in Qualitative Research

Abstract

Either due to the existing or the emerging trend of a wide variety of problems
such as academic, social, cultural, psychological, economical, environmental
and political, the search for better answers for important questions will
probably always continue. With this regard, research is conducted and being
conducted virtually in all fields of area particularly in social sciences to
advance knowledge and solve problems through a thorough understanding,
exploration, description, prediction, explanation, and discovering the
phenomena humans face. Research is a careful, systematic, patient
investigation that employs the scientific method, which seeks facts and
relationships, following a research process that collects, analyzes and
interprets data, while adhering to operating rules of legality, ethics and
established research procedures (Mertler and Charles, 2005).
The debate about the research continuum (either quantitative, qualitative or
mixed approach) to describe the reality as well as how to ensure
trustworthiness of qualitative research data is an issue that revolves in the
minds of novice researchers in particular. The strengths and weaknesses of
qualitative and quantitative research are a perennial, hot debate, especially
in the social sciences. The issues invoke classic 'paradigm war'.
I am amazed how often we hear qualitative researchers applying their
standards to quantitative research or quantitative researchers applying their
standards to qualitative research. Each functions within different
assumptions. Finding fault with one approach with the standards of another
does little to promote understanding. Each approach should be judged on its
theoretical basis.