RESEARCH METHOD COHEN ok

500 CONTENT ANALYSIS AND GROUNDED THEORY
frequently merge. This raises the issues of validity
and reliability. What we have here is a problem of
the ‘double hermeneutic’ – as researchers we are
members of the world that we are researching,
so we cannot be neutral; we live in an alreadyinterpreted
world. More extensively Morrison
(2003) suggests that the problem extends beyond
this. Look at the example above:
The teacher and the children act on the basis
of their interpretations of the situation (their
‘definitions of the situation’).
The lived actions are converted from one
medium (observations, actions and live events)
to another (written) by choosing to opt only
for transcription – an interpretation of their
interpretation.
The researcher then interprets the written
data (a third hermeneutic) and writes
an unavoidably selective account (a fourth –
quadruple – hermeneutic – an interpretation
of an interpretation of an interpretation of
an interpretation!).
The reader then brings his/her own
biography and background to interpret
the researcher’s written interpretation (a
fifth – quintuple – hermeneutic).
Given the successive interpretations it is difficult
not to suggest that reliability and validity can
easily be compromised in qualitative research.
Reflexivity as the disclosure of one’s possible
biased interpretations does little to reduce them – I
can state my possible biases and interpretations
but that does not necessarily stop them from
being selective and biased. This suggests, perhaps,
the limits of reflexivity. In connection with
increasing reliability and validity, reflexivity is
not enough.
The accompanying web site contains an
introductory manual for using QSR NUD.IST (the
principles of which apply to N-Vivo: see http://
www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415368780 –
Chapter 23, file 23.2 doc). The web site
also contains a full set of Word-based
data files specifically prepared for QSR, concerning
a single project of assessment and
testing (see http://www.routledge.com/textbooks/
9780415368780 – Chapter 23, files qsr23.13
through to qsr23.23). These have also been
saved into Word documents (see http://www.
routledge.com/textbooks/9780415368780 –
Chapter 23, file 23.3.doc through to file
23.13.doc). A listing of the documents of
qualitative data that are prepared is available
on the accompanying web site (http://
www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415368780 –
Chapter 23, file QSR FILES ON THE WEB
SITE).