Establishing Trustworthiness of Data

Lincoln and Guba, as cited by Polit and Beck (2012) proposed four criteria for

developing the trustworthiness of qualitative research study, which are: credibility,

dependability, conformability, and transferability which represent the criteria of internal validity,

reliability, objectivity and external validity respectively. Conducting research is a time-

consuming procedure. The researchers must ensure that the knowledge gathered is accurate and

true to the human experience. Simply put, trustworthiness implies that everyone can completely

rely on the study because it is founded on and created on integrity and truthfulness.

Credibility. This refers to the truth of the data or the participant views and the interpretation and

representation of them by the researcher (Polit & Beck, 2012). It essentially determines whether

the results accurately represent the original data from the participant's perspective and are

appropriately interpreted based on the information gathered. Prolonged engagement, continuous

observations, triangulation, participant checks, and vivid documentation of information are all

strategies that can be used to ensure credibility. Given the time and circumstances during the

production of this paper, some of these techniques were not appropriate for the analysis. Member

checks, on the other hand, will be use. This entails providing participants with evidence,

interpretations, and assumptions in order to ensure that what was written will be consistent with

the information gathered during the interview. This

would enhance the data as researchers and participants look at the data with different eyes (as

cited in Korstjens & Moser, 2018). Also, all unclear responses will be investigated during the

interview to maintain trust in the accuracy of the results by asking for clarifications and
analyzing the informants' verbatims and expressions in order to obtain the researchers' objective

answers from the informants.

Dependability. It refers to the constancy of the data over similar conditions (Polit & Beck, 2012;

Tobin & Begley, 2004). To limit researcher bias, the researchers will use bracketing, a method of

separating ideas and opinions about the phenomenon under analysis before, during, and after the

interview and data collection.

Confirmability. This refers to the degree of confidence that all of the study results represent the

participants' perspectives and narratives, rather than the researcher's possible biases. Each team

member will have to clarify their thoughts and ideas about the analysis, and the original data of

the participants will have to be carefully interpreted.

Transferability. This refers to findings that can be applied to other settings or groups

(Houghton, Casey, Shaw, & Murphy, 2013; Polit & Beck, 2012). This study aims to provide

outsiders or readers and even other researchers, not just a view of the behaviors and experiences

of the clinical instructors during the inquiry, but also a description of the research context as

well.

Authenticity. Authenticity refers to the ability and extent to which the researcher expresses the

feelings and emotions of the participant’s experiences in a faithful manner (Polit & Beck, 2012).

This study will help readers to learn about and understand the perceptions and transitions of

clinical instructors.