Qualitative Research Methods, Trustworthiness, and Rigour

Flashcards covering qualitative data collection methods, interview dynamics, focus group types, Guba and Lincoln's trustworthiness framework, and ethical rigour.

Interview

A well-planned discussion designed to listen, see, and understand a phenomenon from the perspective of the individual most knowledgeable about it.

Rapport

The relational connection between researcher and participant that directly shapes the depth and quality of shared information, opening the door to richer, more honest data.

Structured Interview

An interview type characterized by close-ended questions and a pre-determined guide with little or no adaptation of question order, suited for descriptive studies and larger sample sizes.

Semi-structured Interview

A commonly used qualitative interview format where an interview guide or schedule provides a framework of key questions while permitting additional probes for insight.

Unstructured Interview

An interview format using open-ended questions to explore little-known phenomena in exploratory studies, guided by specific goals while allowing participant elaboration without a rigid schedule.

Interview Guide

A flexible framework, rather than a script, designed to keep a discussion focused on research objectives while remaining flexible enough to follow the participant's lead.

Detail-oriented Probing

An interview probing strategy utilized by the researcher specifically to understand the context of a participant's statement.

Elaboration Probing

An interview probing strategy implemented by the researcher to gather more detail from a participant.

Clarification Probing

An interview probing strategy used to ensure that the researcher and participant share the same understanding of a concept or response.

Go-Along Interview

A qualitative interview format where the researcher accompanies a participant during their natural routine or within their local environment to capture contextual experiences.

Photovoice

A participatory qualitative interview format where participants use photography to document, reflect upon, and communicate their lived experiences.

Focus Group

A group interview of $4$ to $8$ participants within a specific setting that explores shared experiences and perspectives, gathering qualitative data at the individual, group, and interactive levels.

Focus Group Facilitator (Moderator)

The role assumed by the researcher in a focus group, focusing on stimulating and guiding group interaction while staying in the background rather than acting as an interrogator.

Nominal Groups

A structured group method where invited experts individually generate opinions and rank the importance of matters under investigation.

Delphi Method

An extension of nominal groups involving multiple sequential rounds of consultation and ranking among experts to systematically build consensus.

Lekgotla

A contextually sensitive indigenous method originating from traditional Sepedi council meetings where community members collaboratively discuss solutions to a problem, all views hold equal weight, and discussion continues until consensus is achieved.

Mmogo-method™

A culturally sensitive, empowering visual projective technique where participants use familiar materials like clay, beads, and cloth to create symbolic objects and discuss their meanings collaboratively.

Pilot Interview

A preliminary trial run of an interview guide and procedure conducted prior to main data collection to refine question wording, check timing, and evaluate interviewer technique.

POPIA

The Protection of Personal Information Act, South African legislation governing participant confidentiality, data privacy, and data security during qualitative storage and management.

Rigour

The calibration of a research lens to ensure results are the product of sound methodological decisions and deeply informed by theory, separating academic inquiry from anecdotal storytelling.

Research Waste

The loss of valuable resources occurring when completed projects are not published, results are published with inadequate method details, or flawed designs render findings unreliable and unusable.

Credibility

Guba and Lincoln's qualitative counterpart to internal validity, calibrating truth and establishing believability in findings directly from the perspective of participants.

Transferability

Guba and Lincoln's qualitative counterpart to external validity, calibrating context and describing how relevance can be transported to other settings rather than seeking statistical generalizability.

Dependability

Guba and Lincoln's qualitative counterpart to reliability, calibrating systemic consistency and ensuring the stability of research findings over time and across changing contexts.

Confirmability

Guba and Lincoln's qualitative counterpart to objectivity, calibrating neutrality by ensuring interpretations are grounded directly in participant voice and raw data rather than researcher bias.

Negative Case Analysis

A credibility strategy involving the active, intentional search for data and cases that contradict emerging themes in order to refine theories and interpretations.

Peer Debriefing

A credibility technique where external colleagues or experts are engaged to critically review methodology, question interpretations, and challenge researcher cognitive blind spots.

Referential Adequacy

A credibility protocol of archiving raw data materials (such as unedited audio recordings and field notes) as transparent evidence to evaluate preliminary conclusions against later.

Prolonged Engagement

A credibility method of spending sufficient time in the field to build rapport, understand sociocultural context, and test for misinformation or distortions.

Persistent Observation

A credibility strategy involving repeatedly documenting phenomena to capture nuances and identify the most pervasive characteristics relevant to the research question.

Member Checking

A credibility process in which transcripts, analytical categories, and interpretations are taken back to participants for direct verification of accuracy.

Thick Description

A transferability technique that provides rich, contextually detailed accounts of the socio-cultural climate and field settings so readers can assess applicability to other contexts.

Audit Trail

A dependability tool consisting of meticulous, transparent archives documenting all research activities, analytical transitions, coding decisions, and raw evidence.

Inquiry Audit

A dependability method where an external independent expert conducts a systematic review of the research process, logic, and records to verify methodological stability.

Reflexive Journal

A confirmability instrument kept by the researcher to document, interrogate, and make explicit their personal assumptions, subjectivities, and biases throughout inquiry.

Triangulation

The cross-verification of research findings through multiple intersecting vantage points—such as different times/spaces (data), multiple investigators, distinct theories, or combined methods—to reduce bias.

COREQ Guidelines

The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research developed by Tong et al., consisting of a $32$-item checklist spanning three domains: research team and reflexivity, study design, and analysis and findings.

Tracy’s Big Tent Model

A holistic contemporary model for qualitative quality comprising eight key criteria: worthy topic, rich rigour, sincerity, credibility, resonance, significant contribution, ethics, and meaningful coherence.

Critical Ethicality

A qualitative ethics perspective, advanced by Saville Young ($2016$), that extends beyond institutional review board checklists to interrogate positionality, cultural nuances, and knowledge hierarchies.

Situational Ethics

An ethical praxis highlighted by Catriona Macleod requiring researchers to dynamically navigate unpredictable field environments, local dialects, language translation, and researcher identity.