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Chapter 3. Research Methodology Adoption, Diffusion and Use of E-government
Hassan Al-Zaabi Services in Abu Dhabi Police Force
3.9 Evaluation of Qualitative Research
There are various approaches for evaluating the research findings in a qualitative IS research (Lincoln
and Guba, 1985; Miles and Huberman, 1994; Hoepfl, 1997; Devers, 1999; Bryman and Bell, 2003;
Zhang and Wildemuth, 2009). Golden-Biddle and Locke (1993) formed criteria to evaluate
ethnography research. Klein and Myers (1999: 70) introduced a set of principles to evaluate
hermeneutic research. Schultze (2000: 30) suggested a different approach to evaluate ethnography and
confessional research.
As stated earlier, this is an interpretive qualitative research study along with elements of case study
research. For this, an approach formed by Lincoln and Guba (1985) was viewed to be most appropriate
for this research. Lincoln and Guba (1985) listed four main criteria to judge interpretive qualitative
research, which are: (i) Credibility (ii) Transferability (iii) Dependability and (iv) Confirmability.
Pozzebon (2003: 10) argued that “respecting these four criteria would guarantee the trustworthiness of
findings from studies using qualitative methods”. To ensure that this research has pursued these
principles, a description of how and when they were used is given in the next sections.
Furthermore, the evaluation approach of Lincoln and Guba (1985) also aims to generalise the research
findings by examining „transferability‟. The “concept of transferability corresponds to the crucial
positivist criterion of generalisability” (Pozzebon, 2003: 10). Lee and Baskerville (2003: 221) argued
that “because the field of information systems (IS) is not just science but also a profession, the
generalisability of an IS theory to different settings is important not only for purposes of basic
research, but also for purposes of managing and solving problems that corporations and other
organisations experience in society”.
The criteria of qualitative research differ from quantitative research (Lincoln and Guba, 1985; Hoepfl,
1997; Devers, 1999, Bryman and Bell, 2003). The main criteria of qualitative and quantitative research
and its definitions are listed in table 3.8.
Qualitative Research Quantitative Research
Credibility: “the truth of the findings, as viewed
through the eyes of those being observed or
interviewed and within the context in which the
research is carried out” (Devers, 1999: 1165).
Internal validity: “the degree to which findings
correctly maps the phenomenon in question” (Devers,
1999: 1157).
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