UNDERSTANDING

THE RIGORS OF
RESEARCH
FILAMER P. GUIBONE
We are in the age of systematic research
Miracles or unexplained revelations are simply not
allow in academic research
Archimedes, Galileo and Newton would not get a
degree for at least some of their discovers
Rigor is a concept which spans a spectrum or
perhaps a continuum. Research needs to be
“rigorous enough”.
Definition of Rigor

Rigor in a research means quality control, there is no

science without rigor. You need rigor to make your
research valid, reliable, generalizable, and authentic.
Definition of Rigor

 A piece of research can be said to be rigorous if there is no doubt that

it has been conducted in terms of all the rules associated with the
research paradigm under which it was produced.
 The degree to which research methods are scrupulously and
meticulously applied
 Is there a trade off between Relevance and Rigor? Some researchers
suggest that there is an Heisenberg type relationship but this does not
have to be the case.
Definition of Rigor

 A piece of research can be said to be rigorous if there is no doubt that

it has been conducted in terms of all the rules associated with the
research paradigm under which it was produced.
 The degree to which research methods are scrupulously and
meticulously applied
 Is there a trade off between Relevance and Rigor? Some researchers
suggest that there is an Heisenberg type relationship but this does not
have to be the case.
Rigor in quantitative studies

 The type of control you need in an experimental or quantitative study is different

from what you need in a qualitative or survey based research design. Quantitative
research can follow a strict, rigid, and pre-designed format.
 This type of pre-determined design helps in getting control of your research. All you
have to do is stay accurate and precise and follow the pre-designed plan.
 Also quantitative research is objective in nature so if you did the right testing and
repeated it several times and then applied the right statistical test there is least
chances of bias or subjectivity introduced to your research.
Rigor in qualitative studies

 On the other hand, qualitative research is different from quantitative research in many ways.
 The definition of rigor states that it is a quality of being exact, stiff, and precise. Rigor also
means being thorough and accurate and staying within boundaries. When we look at the
qualitative research it mostly does not lends itself to stiff boundaries. 
 RIGOR is the soundness of study in terms of PLANNING,
DATA COLLECTION (DESIGNING) and ANALYSIS AND
REPORTING (ORGANIZATION)

 Research should be conducted in a rigorous manner

PLANNING

 You need rigor to make your research valid, reliable,

generalizable, and authentic.
 So, in a sense rigor comes first and then you can say that
your research has all other characteristics.
 While rigor improves validity, reliability, and reproducibility of
a research but of course it is not the absolute criterion.
DESIGNING

 Collecting/gathering/developing data/evidence
 For the purposes of your research data needs to be defined
 A philosophical stance on the nature of data collection is important
 At least two philosophical understandings of data need to be considered:-
 Data of a product of mining – this has nothing to do with data mining.
 Data as a product of travelling
ORGANIZING

 Analysing the data and producing the results

 Rigor relies on a demonstration of being able to use appropriate data analysis to
explore the research question/s
 What was the nature of the data used?
 How much data was used?
 How were data suppliers chosen?
 From whom was it collected and how many?
 What was the stance of the data suppliers?
 Have the assumptions underpinning the analysis been complied with?
 Are the results significant and in what way?
 How can one achieve rigor in a qualitative or
quantitative research?
 Broadly, rigor comes with the researcher’s
understanding and application of rigor in two
ways: scientifically and ethically.
• İlknur Dolu, Mehmet İlkin Naharcı, Patricia A. Logan, Piret Paal, Mojtaba
Vaismoradi, Transitional ‘hospital to home’ care of older patients: healthcare professionals’
perspectives, Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 10.1111/scs.12904, 0, 0, (undefined).
• Hofseth L. J. (2018). Getting rigorous with scientific rigor. Carcinogenesis, 39(1), 21–25.
https://doi.org/10.1093/carcin/bgx085