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Chapter 3 Research Framework
(2002) explained that Stake (1995, 2000), the founder of case study methods,
believed in “naturalistic generalisation”. This type of generalisation creates a
knowledge gained from reading rich case descriptions. Thus the quality of the
product or the case description adds to the quality of the study. The richer the case
description the more likely it is that all of the evidence has been attended to.
Some authors also discuss the role of “reflexivity” in maintaining qualitative
research quality (Holloway and Wheeler, 2010; Sandelowski and Barroso, 2007;
Parahoo, 2006). Reflexivity is a strategy used in order to make the researcher’s
values, beliefs and interpretations transparent. For example, if a nurse with expertise
in a specific clinical area undertakes qualitative research in that area then he/she
would acknowledge their own values and beliefs at the outset. According to
Holloway and Wheeler (2010), and Lincoln and Guba (1985), reflexivity requires the
researcher to critically reflect on their own preconceptions, monitor their reactions to
participants’ accounts and actions, and monitor their relationships with research
participants.
What appears to be central to many of the recommendations in the literature to
ensuring rigour in qualitative research is demonstrating that both the data collection
processes and the findings are trustworthy and succinct (Easton, McComish and
Greenberg, 2000; Patton, 2002; Lincoln and Guba, 1985; Hammersley and Atkinson,
1983; Stake, 1978, 1995, 2000).
Further to maintaining rigour in qualitative research it is also important to maintain
reliability and validity in quantitative research.
3.10.2 Rigour in Quantitative Research
The two key concerns when establishing the rigour of quantitative research are
reliability and validity. Polit and Beck (2006: 508) define reliability as “the degree of
consistency or dependability with which an instrument measures the attribute it is
designed to measure”. Kirk and Miller (1986) identified three types of reliability in
quantitative research and these are still relevant today. They are the degree to which
a measurement, given repeatedly, remains the same, the stability of a measurement
over time, and the similarity of measurements within a given time period. In other