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John W. Creswell
Dana L. Miller
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Determining Validity
in Qualitative Inquiry
inquiry is challenging on many levels. Multiple perspectives about it flood the pages of books
(e.g., Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Maxwell, 1996; Merriam, 1998; Schwandt, 1997) and articles and chapters (e.g., Altheide & Johnson, 1994; Lather, 1993;
Maxwell, 1992). In these texts, readers are treated to
a confusing array of terms for validity, including authenticity, goodness, verisimilitude, adequacy, trustworthiness, plausibility, validity, validation, and
credibility. Various authors have constructed diverse
typologies of validity (e.g., Maxwells five types,
1992; Lathers four frames, 1993; and Schwandts
four positions, 1997). It is little wonder that Donmoyer (1996), who wrote an editorial on validity
in the Educational Researcher, commented on the
diverse perspectives of validity by contrasting Miles
and Hubermans (1994) traditional conception of
validity with Lathers (1993) ironic validity (p.
21). Novice researchers, in particular, can become
increasingly perplexed in attempting to understand
the notion of validity in qualitative inquiry.
There is a general consensus, however, that
qualitative inquirers need to demonstrate that their
studies are credible. To this end, several authors identify common procedures for establishing validity in
RITING ABOUT VALIDITY IN QUALITATIVE
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Paradigm Assumptions
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522). To this end, researchers engage in validity procedures of self-disclosure and collaboration with
participants in a study. These procedures help to
minimize further the inequality that participants
often feel. For example, Carspeckens Critical Ethnography in Educational Research (1996) reports
validity procedures for tracking bias and interviews
with oneself as ways for researchers to be situated
in a study.
Table 1
Validity Procedures Within Qualitative Lens and Paradigm Assumptions
Paradigm assumption/Lens
Postpositivist or
Systematic Paradigm
Constructivist
Paradigm
Critical Paradigm
Lens of the
Researcher
Triangulation
Disconfirming
evidence
Researcher
reflexivity
Lens of Study
Participants
Member checking
Collaboration
Thick, rich
description
Peer debriefing
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Disconfirming evidence
A procedure closely related to triangulation
is the search by researchers for disconfirming or
negative evidence (Miles & Huberman, 1994). It
is the process where investigators first establish
the preliminary themes or categories in a study
and then search through the data for evidence that
is consistent with or disconfirms these themes. In
this process, researchers rely on their own lens,
and this represents a constructivist approach in that
it is less systematic than other procedures and relies on examining all of the multiple perspectives
on a theme or category.
In practice, the search for disconfirming evidence is a difficult process because researchers have
the proclivity to find confirming rather than disconfirming evidence. Further, the disconfirming
evidence should not outweigh the confirming evidence. As evidence for the validity of a narrative
account, however, this search for disconfirming
evidence provides further support of the accounts
credibility because reality, according to constructivists, is multiple and complex.
Member checking
With member checking, the validity procedure shifts from the researchers to participants in
the study. Lincoln and Guba (1985) describe member checks as the most crucial technique for establishing credibility (p. 314) in a study. It consists
of taking data and interpretations back to the participants in the study so that they can confirm the
credibility of the information and narrative account.
With the lens focused on participants, the researchers systematically check the data and the narrative
account.
Several procedures facilitate this process. A
popular strategy is to convene a focus group of
participants to review the findings. Alternatively,
researchers may have participants view the raw data
(e.g., transcriptions or observational field notes)
and comment on their accuracy. Throughout this
process, the researchers ask participants if the
themes or categories make sense, whether they are
developed with sufficient evidence, and whether
the overall account is realistic and accurate. In turn,
researchers incorporate participants comments into
the final narrative. In this way, the participants
add credibility to the qualitative study by having a
chance to react to both the data and the final narrative.
Researcher reflexivity
A third validity procedure is for researchers to
self-disclose their assumptions, beliefs, and biases.
This is the process whereby researchers report on
personal beliefs, values, and biases that may shape
their inquiry. It is particularly important for researchers to acknowledge and describe their enter-
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Positioning Ourselves
Our approach is to use several validity procedures in our studies. Certainly some strategies
are easier to use than others, particularly those in-
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