Evidence Produced While Using Qualitative Methodologies Including Research Trustworthiness

Abstract

Qualitative research has long been challenged and criticized on issues relating to validity and objectivity. Much debate and discourse have thoroughly explored these concerns and provided coherent reasoning to allay apprehensions and provide researchers with a wealth of advice and guidance on the rigorous conduct and reporting of qualitative studies. Basic principles of trustworthiness are at the core of the evidence and include credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability.

Efforts to achieve these principles need to be invested from conception of the research question, through research design, conduct, reporting, and dissemination. There are validated reporting checklists which offer valuable aide-mémoires or prompts to researchers in this journey. These are also used as standards in the review of research to assess aspects of trustworthiness and subsequently quality of the research and the findings. This chapter includes a summary of primary design techniques that aim to improve “trustworthiness” of qualitative research which, if adopted, contribute toward generating evidence of greater value and potential impact.

There are other recognized strategies that can be used as tools by researchers in their endeavor to convince readers, reviewers, and potentially decision-makers of the true value of their work. It is notable that there is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, researchers are urged to be cognizant of the importance of coherency and transparency in the approach, conduct, and reporting of their research to ensure it is best considered, appreciated, and utilized to inform policy and practice. Although this chapter provides an overview and description of tools and strategies to enhance trustworthiness of qualitative research, it is acknowledged that each would require a chapter in its own right to capture the theoretical evolution of these concepts and fully educate the reader. The chapter does not include examples from the pharmacy literature where the criteria have been applied, nor does it provide a comprehensive description of the competing viewpoints of establishing quality in the published literature. Therefore, it is recommended that qualitative researchers consider the following information as a research toolbox, where they are likely to need to consult more detailed manuals of the individual tools in order to fully appreciate their utility and application.