DEVELOPMENTAL CRISIS IN EARLY ADULTHOOD: A ...

economic groups get married earlier, start parenting earlier, have fewer financial
resources and start work earlier, which will likely lead to different crisis patterns.
They may also not have the material and social resources for a moratorium,
which is essential for active growth from crisis. The current results are specific
both to historical and social context in which the research was conducted, and
may be specific to the demographics of the sample. This lends the study both
limitations and strengths. Contextual embeddedness is a limitation to any
statements of generality, but it is also a strength in that it demonstrates that results
are not just abstract constructs divorced from the real and changing world, but
have a clear relation to the culture and locale from which they were gathered.
10.8 Validity Checks
At the end of Chapter 4, validation criteria were described that together
provide a comprehensive framework for assessing qualitative studies. By
combining the criteria of Miles and Huberman (1994), Elliott, Rennie and Fischer
(1990), Yardley (2000) and Smith (2003), four key benchmarks of validity were
established; credibility, coherence, sensitivity and resonance. Assessment of
these standards includes a variety of checks that contribute to an overall
validation and the first that will be considered is credibility.
In accordance with the protocol described by Smith (2003), ongoing and
invaluable “mini-audits” on method, data collection, analysis and reporting were
provided by the project supervisor. This facilitated numerous developments and
enhanced the validity of all steps of the research. There were teething problems
in formulating the composite methodology correctly, so numerous substantial
mini-audits were required with the supervisor before its formulation was
finalised. There were also times when analytical themes or meta-themes were
challenged by mini-audits, leading to important clarifications and revisions. A
list of key mini-audits is shown in Appendix M.
Sensitivity is one of the four validation criteria set out in Chapter 4. It
involves using sensitivity as a modus operandi for the whole research endeavour; a
sensitivity to context, to the needs of the participants, to new insights and analytical
steps, to differences between individuals, to commonalities, to one’s own needs as a
researcher, to one’s potential readers, to others in the research process such as
supervisor. I hope that the participant feedback exercise shown below provides some
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