QUAL3- quality in qualitative research & mixed methods

3 things quality in quantitative research evaluated on

• reliability

• internal validity

• external validity

  all rely on the assumption that the research measures something thats objective

yardley’s 4 principles for evaluating quality of qualitative study

• sensitivity to context (introduction)

• commitment & rigour (method)

• transparency & coherence (method/results)

• impact & importance (discussion/abstract)

sensitivity to context

• awareness of the broader context that research is conducted in & has an influence

• introduction outlines relevant literature, concepts & assumptions, socio-cultural setting of participants/researcher

commitment & rigour

• data collection is complete

• analysis is complete

• samples have to be purposive

• data saturation: point where no new ideas are drawn from the data

what is triangulation

combining methods of data collection/analysis to gain a multi-layered understanding of a research topic

• data comes from different sources

• combining analytical approaches

• shows commitment & rigour

what is validation

checking the interpretation of the data with others to increase credibility

• peer verification

• respondent verification: p’s are given a copy of analysis before publication & can make comments

• shows commitment & rigour

2 ways analysts can show transparency

• auditability: method section outlines every aspect of data collection & rules used to code data → result has an exert of data

• reflexibility: discussion of the experiences which led the researcher to do a particular investigation (assumptions/intentions/actions) → reflexive statement in the report

3 types of impact

• theoretical: how do findings influence current theories

• practical: how should services/policies be updated based on findings

• social-cultural: what do findings indicate about how we think about social problems

what is transferability

the degree to which results of qualitative research can be transferred to other contexts with other participants

• needs a thick description

• demonstrates importance

what is mixed methods research

systematic approach to data collection/analysis that uses different sources of data & quantitative/qualitative analysis so you can understand multiple perspectives

what analytical logics does mixed methods use

• exploratory/hypothesis generating

• confirmatory/hypothesis confirmation

decisions matrix/priority-sequence model for mixed methods (draw)

equal/dominant

concurrent/sequential