Creswell_Research_Design_ Qualitative Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches 2018 5th Ed

Verification
In ensuring internal validity, the following strategies will be employed:
1. Triangulation of data—Data will be collected through multiple sources to include interviews, observations and document analysis;
2. Member checking—The informant will serve as a check throughout the analysis process. An ongoing dialogue regarding my
interpretations of the informant’s reality and meanings will ensure the truth value of the data;
3. Long terms and repeated observations at the research site—Regular and repeated observations of similar phenomena and settings will
occur on-site over a four month period of time;
4. Peer examination—a doctoral student and graduate assistant in the Educational Psychology Department will serve as a peer examiner;
5. Participatory modes of research—The informant will be involved in most phases of this study, from the design of the project to checking
interpretations and conclusions; and
6. Clarification of researcher bias—At the outset of this study researcher bias will be articulated in writing in the dissertation proposal
under the heading, “The Researcher’s Role.”
The primary strategy utilized in this project to ensure external validity will be the provision of rich, thick, detailed descriptions so that
anyone interested in transferability will have a solid framework for comparison (Merriam, 1988). Three techniques to ensure reliability
will be employed in this study. First, the researcher will provide a detailed account of the focus of the study, the researcher’s role, the
informant’s position and basis for selection, and the context from which data will be gathered (LeCompte & Goetz, 1984). Second,
triangulation or multiple methods of data collection and analysis will be used, which strengthens reliability as well as internal validity
(Merriam, 1988). Finally, data collection and analysis strategies will be reported in detail in order to provide a clear and accurate picture
of the methods used in this study. All phases of this project will be subject to scrutiny by an external auditor who is experienced in
qualitative research methods. [Author identified strategies of validity to be used in the study.]
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