MAKING YOUR WAY THROUGH
A QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH STUDY
1. Determine the question asked and
the conclusion reached. Keep these CLEARLY in mind as you work through
the following questions.
2. Who was included in the
study and how were they selected? Consider gender, ethnicity, class, age,
geographical location, and any other characteristic that might be pertinent
to the question.
POINT OF CRITIQUE: How was entry gained
to the selection/subjects? What relationship did the researcher have prior
to the study?
IMPORTANCE OF CRITIQUE: How similar is
this context to other contexts of similar studies?
3. Determine the type of study you are
reading: Ethnography, Grounded Theory, Case Study, Phenomenology, Narrative
4. Does the researcher clearly describe
his/her theoretical positioning?
5. Credibility -Will
the methodology and its conduct produce findings that are believable and
convincing?
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Does the researcher clearly describe data
gathering procedures and decision-making for what is included and excluded?
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Does the researcher clearly describe data
analysis procedures and how coding categories are derived?
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Are adequate examples given to illustrate
the verisimilitude of categories?
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Is there triangulation:
(Data sources from multiple perspectives)
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Was there member-checking:
did the researchers check their findings with participants before publishing?
6. Dependability - Within
reasonable limits, are the findings consistent with other similar studies?
7. Transferability -
To what other contextually similar settings can these findings be applied?
8. Confirmability - Are
both the process and the product of the data collection and analysis auditable
by an outside party?