Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research (Qualitative Research Methods)

Rating:
Summary: Informative in Providing Background Material
Review: Kirk and Miller seek to resolve some of the problems of reliability and validity faced by researchers using qualitative methodology. It is emphasized in the series introduction in the preface of the book that the distinction between qualitative and quantitative research is often misleading and false. The authors elaborate on that observation in their opening comments by noting, "Technically, a 'qualitative observation' identifies the presence or absence of something, in contrast to 'qualitative observation,' which involves measuring the degree to which some feature is present." They go on to discuss how one knows what one knows and the role data collection and interpretion plays. They acknowledge that individuals' meanings must be taken into account in the process of reporting the findings.

The meat of their argument is addressed in the next section as they cite various well known researchers and discuss their contributions. They talk about issues of reliability in these studies and the role of interpreting results. This book helps you to see the challenges of ethnographic research.