How do we assess and assure Validity in Qualitative Research? This can be a bit of a tricky topic, as qualitative research involves humans understanding humans, a necessarily subjective practice from the get-go. Nevertheless, there are some questions the researcher can ask and some techniques he or she can employ to establish a reasonable level of validity.
Whether in business or the social sciences, it informs decisions with significant implications, making high validity essential. While you shouldn’t extrapolate results to a larger population (as the sample size isn’t statistically significant), you can establish validity to inform meaningful decisions.
One measure of validity in qualitative research is to ask questions such as: “Does it make sense?” and “Can I trust it?” This may seem like a fuzzy measure of validity to someone disciplined in quantitative research, for example, but in a science that deals in themes and context, these questions are important.
The first step in ensuring validity is choosing a well-trained and skilled moderator (or facilitator). A good moderator will check personal bias and expectations at the door. The researcher aims to gather as much candid information as possible from participants, and respectful neutrality is essential for valid qualitative research. For this reason, organizations often employ moderators from outside the group or organization to help ensure that the responses are genuine and not influenced by “what we want to hear.” For some academic applications, the moderator will disclose his or her perspectives and biases in the reporting of the data as a matter of full disclosure.
While a good moderator is key, a good sample group is also essential. Are you truly recruiting participants from the segment they belong to? Ethical recruiting is an important issue in qualitative research, as data collected from individuals who are not truly representative of their segment will not lead to valid results.
Another way to promote validity is to employ a strategy known as triangulation. To accomplish this, the research is done from multiple perspectives. This could take the form of using several moderators, different locations, multiple individuals analyzing the same data . . . essentially any technique that would inform the results from different angles. For some applications, for example, an organization may choose to run focus groups in parallel through two entirely different researchers and then compare the results.
Validity in qualitative research can also be checked by a technique known as respondent validation. This technique involves testing initial results with participants to see if they still ring true. Although the research has been interpreted and condensed, participants should still recognize the results as authentic and, at this stage, may even be able to refine the researcher’s understanding.
When the study permits, deep saturation into the research will also promote validity. If responses become more consistent across larger numbers of samples, the data becomes more reliable.
Another technique to establish validity is to actively seek alternative explanations to what appear to be research results. If the researcher is able to exclude other scenarios, he is or she is able to strengthen the validity of the findings. Related to this technique is asking questions in an inverse format.
While the techniques to establish validity in qualitative research may seem less concrete and defined than in some of the other scientific disciplines, strong research techniques will, indeed, assure an appropriate level of validity in qualitative research.