24/02/2014

Establishing the trustworthiness /

rigour of qualitative research

Damhnat McCann

Four key criteria

 Credibility
 Dependability
 Confirmability
 Transferability

Credibility

 The believability of the data – are

the findings credible?
 Can we have confidence in the truth
of the findings?
 Would those having the experience
recognise the researchers account
of it?
(Carter & Goodacre 2012; Beck 2009)

1
 24/02/2014

Appraising credibility
Respondent /member checking – do others
review the findings during analysis?
Negative case analysis – do any participants
tell a different story?
Triangulation – do they use more than one
method of data collection? More than one point of
view during analysis?

Prolonged engagement in data collection

(Carter & Goodacre 2012; Litva & Jacoby 2007)

Dependability
…the stability of the data over time & in
different contexts and conditions (Beck 2009: 544)
How dependable are the accounts that
have been produced?
What techniques do researchers use to
ensure dependability?
 Accurately recording data & transcribing
verbatim
 Flexibility in research design

Confirmability
 Degree to which the findings are coming
from the participants and not because of the
views or biases of the researcher
 Thick description / audit trail – is a detailed
description provided of how the research was
conducted and decisions made?

 Reflexivity – is the researcher sensitive to the

ways they may have affected data collection or
shaped the data analysis

2
 24/02/2014

Transferability

How well can the findings fit contexts outside

the study situation? Can the findings be
transferred to other contexts/settings?

 Thick description / audit trail – particularly

important to describe the selection of participants and
the context/setting for the research

(Litva & Jacoby 2007; Beck 2009)

References
Beck, CT 2009, Critiquing qualitative research, AORN Journal,
90(4), pp. 543-554.
Carter, B & Goodacre, L 2012, ‘Using evidence from qualitative
studies’, in JV Craig & RL Smyth (eds.), The evidence-based
practice manual for nurses (3rd ed.), Elsevier, Edinburgh, pp. 116-
144.
Litva, A & Jacoby , A 2007, ‘Qualitative research: critical appraisal’,
in JV Craig & RL Smyth (eds.), The evidence-based practice manual
for nurses (2nd ed.), Elsevier, Edinburgh, pp. 153-161, 175-177.