Internal and External Validity in Qualitative Research

DILLA UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCE

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Research tools and theory

PHRM7313
PHD SEMINAR REPORT
Internal and External validity In Qualitative

Research
Prepared By: Fikru Bedecha
Submitted: Kassahun Alemu Gelaye, (Professor of Public Health

and Epidemiology Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Institute
of Public Health, University of Gondar, Ethiopia)
03/21/2023 BY FIKRU BEDECHA 1
Presentation outline
Introduction
Philosophical and methodological issues in qualitative

research
Qualitative Research Design
Internal and External validity (trustworthiness) in qualitative

Research
 Ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative Research
Reference
Acknowledgment
By: Fikru B. Internal and External validity

21/03/2023 in qualitative 2
1.Introduction
1.1. What Qualitative research

 Qualitative research is the process of collecting, analyzing,
and interpreting non-numerical data.
 Qualitative research can be used to understand how an
individual subjectively perceives and gives meaning to their
social reality.
 Qualitative researchers value natural settings where the
researcher can better understand people’s lived experiences.
Creswell, John W., 2014. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and

mixed methods approaches, 3rd ed.
1. 2.General Characteristics of Qualitative Research
1.Naturalistic: The natural setting is the direct source of data,

and the researcher is the key instrument in qualitative research.
 Qualitative researchers go directly to the Particular setting

of interest to observe and collect their data.
 They spend a considerable amount of time in the site
2.Descriptive Data; Qualitative research is descriptive.

Qualitative data are collected in the form of words or pictures
rather than numbers

General Characteristics of Qualitative Research cont.
3.Concern with Process: Qualitative researchers are concerned with
process as well as product.
 Qualitative researchers are especially interested in how things occur.
Hence, they are likely to observe how people interact with each other;
4.Inductive: Qualitative researchers tend to analyze their data
inductively.
Qualitative researchers do not, usually, formulate a hypothesis
beforehand and then seek to test it out. Rather, they tend to “play
it as it goes.”
General Characteristics of Qualitative Research cont..
5. Meaning: Meaning is of essential concern to the qualitative

approach ,
 How people make sense out of their lives is a major concern
to qualitative researchers.
 A special interest of qualitative researchers lies in the
perspectives of the subjects of a study.
 Qualitative researchers want to know what the participants
in a study are thinking and why they think what they do.
Bogdan, R., Biklen, S.K., 2007. Qualitative research for education: an

introduction to theories and methods, 5th ed. ed. Pearson ABy:&Fikru B. InternalMass.
B, Boston, and External validity
2.Philosophical and methodological issues in
qualitative research:
 Differences between quantitative and qualitative researchers
are often discussed in terms of differing paradigms, or
worldviews.
 Paradigm: means belief, assumption, tradition – ‘a network of
coherent ideas., a lens through which to view the world.
 It is not a methodology, but a philosophy that directs the
process of research in a specific manner
 This is differences in the basic set of beliefs or assumptions
that guide the way they approach their investigations.
2.Philosophical and methodological issues in qualitative
research:
 The philosophical study is composed of three main brands of
philosophy to discover reality, knowledge, and values of the
world
 Ontology is the study of the most general features of reality or
the study of being. What is the nature of being?
 What is there that can be known about it?
 Epistemology or Theory of Knowledge is concerned with the
nature and scope of knowledge.
What constitutes knowledge, how can it be acquired and
communicated?
2.Philosophical and methodological issues in qualitative
research:
 Methodology: it is procedure for the attainment of a goal,

in this case the acquisition of knowledge.
 Two principal paradigms that have predominated in social

sciences research since the 19th century are those based
around positivism and Interpretivism.
 The views held regarding the research and in turn impact

on the ontological, epistemological and methodological
choices made
The positivist perspective
 Assumes that there is a reality independent of our cognitions.
 Careful research design can access it.
 Research design aims to remove research bias.
 Aims to identify relationships between variables and where
possible make predictive statements about a wider population
than the one studied.
 Aim to identify rules and laws, often cause and effect.
 Originates from research in natural sciences.

The positivist perspective cont. ..
Knowledge, values and ethics
Knowledge is built up like building blocks, by adding new
knowledge to old.
 Positivism claims to be value-free and objective if rigour is applied.
 Positivists view values as confounding variables that need to be
controlled in the study.
The methodology is designed to isolate and remove subjectivity and
bias.
 Ethics is seen as something that would be applied to the research,
by an external research ethics body.
Interpretivism /Constructivist perspective
 The ontology of constructivism is relativism and research access to
reality is subjective
 Maintain that access to the social world is subjective and that there are
multiple views of reality.
 Constructivist research is interested in accessing these individual views.
 The influence of the human researcher is acknowledge, and cannot be

made neutral.
 Instead the researcher is used in the co-creation of new knowledge that is

constructed from the meaning-making between the researcher and the
data.
Interpretivism /Constructivist perspective cont.
 knowledge, values and ethics

 Knowledge consists of constructions about which there is
relative consensus.
 Values play a central role in creating and shaping the
research outcomes.
 Constructivism views the role of researcher as the producer
and facilitator of the research.
 The role of the researcher is central to the research process.
 The role of ethics, like values, is central to constructivism
Theoretical aspects of methodology and method
DeJaeghere, J., et.al , 2020. Guidance Note on Qualitative Research in

Education: Considerations for Best Practice
3. Qualitative Research Design
 1. Narrative research: it is the study of the life experiences
of an individual as told to the researcher or found in
documents and archival material.
 It focus on a single individual, often describe special or
important events in the individual’s life, place the individual
within a historical context.

2. Phenomenological Studies
 Phenomenon” is something known through sensory experience.
 A researcher undertaking a phenomenological study investigates various
reactions to, or perceptions of, a particular phenomenon.
 Also attempts to identify the commonalities among different individual
perceptions.
 Phenomenologists generally assume that there is some commonality to how
human beings perceive and interpret similar experiences;
 This commonality of perception is referred to as the essence the essential
characteristic(s) of the experience.
 The study of how people find their experiences meaningful. Ex: Death of
loved ones, care for handicapped persons,

21/03/2023
in qualitative 16
3. ETHNOGRAPHY
 Ethnographic studies involve the collection and analysis of
data about cultural groups.
 The study of a particular cultural group to get clear
understands of its organizational set-up, internal operation,
lifestyle, culture, etc.
 Describing and interpreting a culture-sharing group
 It is the study of shared practices and belief systems
(culture) in their natural context over a prolonged period.
Immersion is necessary.
4. Grounded Theory Studies
 Grounded theory is a qualitative research approach
developed by two sociologists, Glaser and Strauss
(1967).
 In a grounded theory study, a researcher forms a theory
inductively from the data collected as a part of the study.
 Developing a theory grounded in data from the field
 This approach is obviously highly dependent on the
insight of the individual researcher

Glaser and Strauss, 2010) 21/03/2023 in qualitative 18
5 Case studies
 What is a case? A case comprises just one individual, classroom,
school, or program.
 A case study is a detailed study of one or (at most) a few
individuals or other social units, such as a classroom, a school, or a
neighborhood.
 It can also be a study of an event, an activity, or an on going
process.
 Example a student who has trouble learning to read,
 It seeks to find answers to why such a thing occurs to the subject.
 Case studies are in-depth examinations of people or groups of
people.
Internal and External validity In qualitative
Research
2.Internal and External validity in qualitative
Research
 Validity and reliability are key aspects of all research,.
 In qualitative research validity concerns the degree to
which a finding is judged to have been interpreted in a
correct way.
 It is when a researcher uses certain procedures to check for
the accuracy of the research findings
 It is not a property of the instrument, but of the instrument’s
scores and their interpretations.
Creswell, John W., 2014. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and
mixed methods approaches, 3rd ed. SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte.
Ltd.). By: Fikru B. Internal and External validity
2.Internal and External validity in qualitative Research cont.
…
 The two major forms of validity that encompass the many
types.
 They refer to "internal" and "external" validity, Validity
and applied it to qualitative research.
 Internal validity is the term used to refer to the extent

to which research findings are a true reflection or
representation of reality rather than being the effects of
extraneous variables.
Campbell, D.T., Stanley, J.C., 2011. Experimental and quasi-

experimental designs for research. Wadsworth, Belomt, CA.
2.Internal and External validity in qualitative
Research con.
 External validity addresses the degree or extent to which
such representations or reflections of reality are legitimately
applicable across groups
 Qualitative researchers agree that most claims people make are
based on their subjective constructions of reality.
 Validity is vital in qualitative work:
The researcher’s subjectivity can cloud the interpretation of
the data,
The research findings are It often questioned or viewed with
scepticism by the scientific community
Four fundamental questions /useful points/
There are four fundamental questions to be asked about any
kind of research
1.Truth Value—establishing confidence in the truth of the

findings
2. Applicability—extent to which the findings have usefulness

in other context
3. Consistency—these findings can be repeated
4. Neutrality—the degree to which the findings are

determined by the subjects and not the researcher)
Guba, E.G., Lincoln, Y.A.S., 1994. Competing By: Fikru B. Internal and External validity
Paradigms in Qualitative Research. 21/03/2023 in qualitative 24
Four fundamental questions /useful points/.cont.…
 Many qualitative researchers avoid the terms validity and

reliability .
 They use terms such as credibility, trustworthiness, truth,
value, applicability, consistency and conformability, when
referring to criteria for evaluating the scientific merit of
qualitative research.
Krefting, L., 1991. Rigor in Qualitative Research: The

Assessment of Trustworthiness. By: Fikru B. Internal and External validity
The positivist paradigm / In response to these four
questions/
 The criterion of internal validity corresponds with the question

about the truth value of research.
Design is internally valid if there is confidence that the
results of the study are characteristic of the variables being
studied and not of the research procedure itself.).
In studies where a causal connection is assumed between

dependent and independent variables, unambiguous
assignment of causes to effects.
The positivist paradigm / in response to these four questions /
cont.…
2. External validity (the approximate validity) it is infer that the

presumed causal relationship can be generalized to and across
alternate measures of the cause and effect and across different types
of persons, settings, and times”
 It corresponds with the question about the applicability of the

research results to other subjects, tests, settings, times.
Campbell, D.T., Stanley, J.C., 2011. Experimental and quasi-

experimental designs for research. 21/03/2023 in qualitative 27
The positivist paradigm / In response to these four
questions/ cont.
3.The criterion of reliability then corresponds with the

question about the consistency of research findings.
 It is assumed that each repetition of the application of the

same, or supposedly equivalent, instruments to the same
units will yield similar measurements
Egon G. Guba, E.G.G.R., 1981. : Criteria for Assessing the Trustworthiness of

Naturalistic Inquiries. Educational Communication and Technology 29, 75–91
The positivist paradigm ( in response to these four
questions) cont.…..
4. The criterion of objectivity matches the question about

the neutrality of the study.
 In the positivist research paradigm, the usual touchstone for

objectivity is inter-subjective agreement.
 If several observers can agree on a phenomenon, their
collective judgement is said to be objective

The interpretivist research paradigm /In response to these
four questions/
 All scholars agree it would be wrong to evaluate qualitative

methods based on interpretivist, assumptions against the
evaluation criteria from the positivist paradigm.
 The qualitative studies are more trustworthy than others, the

evaluation criteria need to be consistent with the
philosophical positions underpinning.
Sandelowski, et.al. 1997. Qualitative metasynthesis: Issues and techniques. Res.

Nurs. Health 20, 365–371 By: Fikru B. Internal and External validity
The interpretivist research paradigm / In response to these
four questions/ cont. ….
 There are several approaches to trustworthiness and rigor in the
literature as it relates to qualitative research
 The Lincoln and Guba (1985), the trustworthiness of a research
study is the central aspect of the issues that are conventionally
called validity and reliability.
 These authors proposed specific criteria to be used as a
guideline to trustworthiness: credibility, transferability,
dependability and confirmability.

2.1 Ensuring trustworthiness In qualitative Research
What Is Trustworthiness?
 Trustworthiness or rigor of a study refers to the degree of
confidence in data, interpretation, and methods used to
ensure the quality of a study.
 Lincoln and Guba posit that trustworthiness of a research
study is important to evaluating its worth.
 Criteria outlined by Lincoln and Guba (1985) are accepted
by many qualitative researchers.
Guba, E.G., Lincoln, Y.A.S., 1994. Competing
Paradigms in Qualitative Research 21/03/2023 in qualitative 32
Lincoln and Guba's Evaluative Criteria
 Trustworthiness involves establishing:

 Credibility - confidence in the 'truth' of the findings
 Transferability - showing that the findings have
applicability in other contexts
 Dependability - showing that the findings are consistent and
could be repeated
 Confirmability - a degree of neutrality or the extent to
which the findings of a study are shaped by the respondents
and not researcher bias, motivation, or interest.
Robort wood Johnson foundation: Qualitative Research Guidelines Project." July 2006.
http://www.qualres.org/HomeInte-3516.html 21/03/2023 in qualitative 33
1. Credibility
 Credibility: confidence in the 'truth' of the findings
 It is the standard by which a qualitative study is expected to
be believable to critical readers .
 Credibility is the equivalent of internal validity in
quantitative research and is concerned with the aspect of
truth-value
 Lincoln and Guba recommended several techniques
researchers may use to enhance the credibility of their
research.
Robort wood Johnson foundation: Qualitative Research Guidelines Project."
July 2006. http://www.qualres.org/HomeInte-3516.html
Techniques for establishing Credibility
1.Prolonged Engagement:
 Spending sufficient time in the field to learn or understand
the culture, social setting, or phenomenon of interest.
 Development of rapport and trust facilitates understanding
and co-construction of meaning between researcher and
members of a setting.
 For the researcher to experience the breadth of variation and
to overcome distortions due to their presence ( Hawthorne
Effect).
2. Persistent Observation
 It is a technique that ensures depth of experience and

understanding in addition to the broad scope encouraged
through prolonged engagement.
 To be persistent, the researcher must explore details of the
phenomenon under study.
 They can decide what is important and what is irrelevant
and focus on the most relevant aspects.

Role of the observer /four types/.
I. Complete participant: Fully involved in a social setting and

does not let people know they are being studied; “going
native;” (consider ethical dilemmas).
II. Participant-observer: Involved as fully as possible in a social

situation where people know they are being studied; agenda is
revealed.
III. Observer-participant: Primarily observes and participates

only to a limited extent; marginal member of the group.
IV. Complete observer: Does not interact with the group, strictly
an observer; greatest objectivity.
Persistent observation cont. ….
 Participant observation underscore the person's role as a
participant in the social setting he or she observes.
 The range of roles one may play as a participant observer
have been describe by and others.
 Bernard (1998) suggests that participant observation must
be learned in the field.
 However, it needs several skills associated with participant
observation.
Bernard, H.R., 2006. Research methods in anthropology: qualitative
and quantitative approaches, 4. ed. ed.
Skills of a Participant Observer
1. Learning the Language - learning to speak and understand
the language of the people studied; learn insider phrases;
2. Building explicit awareness - awareness of the little, often

taken for granted, details of life
3. Building Memory - building one's ability to remember

things that happen or are observed in the field.
 Practice as well as developing a method for jotting notes
can help with this.

Skills of a Participant Observer cont.….
4. Maintaining Naivete :- trying to maintain a position of

inexperienced member of a social setting or culture.
 Developing this position of 'novice' is particularly
difficult when one studies a familiar culture.
5. Building writing skills - developing the ability to write

comfortably and clearly
Bernard, H.R., 2006. Research methods in anthropology: qualitative

and quantitative approaches, 4. ed. ed. By: Fikru B. Internal and External validity
3. Triangulation
 Triangulation involves using multiple data sources in an
investigation to produce understanding.
 Reasons to triangulate
 A single method can never adequately shed light on a
phenomenon.
 Using multiple methods can help facilitate deeper
understanding.
Robort wood Johnson foundation: Qualitative Research Guidelines

Project." July 2006. http://www.qualres.org/HomeInte-3516.html
Types of triangulation
1.Methods triangulation - checking out the consistency of findings
generated by different data collection methods. .
 Within-method triangulation “the use of varieties of the same

method to investigate a research issue".
 This might involve asking open and closed questions in the same
questionnaire.
 Between-method triangulation the use of "contrasting research

methods”.
 This might involve combining a structured interview with some form

of observational research.
Denzin (1978) and Patton (1999) identify four types of triangulation
Types of triangulation cont. …
2.Triangulation of sources (Data) - Examining the consistency
of different data sources from within the same method:
 In time (gathering data in different times of the day or at
different times in a year),
 space (collecting data on the same phenomenon in multiples
sites)
 Person (gathering data from different types or level of people
e.g. individuals, their family members and clinicians)

Types of triangulation cont. …
3.Analyst Triangulation - using multiple analysts
(Investigator) to review findings or using multiple observers
and analysts
It is concerned with using two ore researchers to make
coding, analysis and interpretation decisions.
4.Theory/perspective triangulation - using multiple

theoretical perspectives to examine and interpret the data. .
 Involves using more than one theoretical scheme in the
interpretation of the phenomenon
4. Peer-debriefing
 Is a technique whereby a researcher meets with a disinterested
peer.
 The peer can question the researcher's methods, emerging
conclusions, and biases.
 A disinterested peer might include anyone who is willing to
ask probing questions and who is not a participant or
researcher in the setting where the study is being conducted.
 Ideally, the peer debriefer should have considerable
knowledge of the studied topic and the method used to
investigate it. By: Fikru B. Internal and External validity
Purpose of debriefing
 A debriefer can help uncover taken-for-granted biases,
perspectives, and assumptions on the researcher's part
 Through this process, the researcher can become aware of
his/her posture toward data and analysis
 This is an opportunity to test and defend emergent
hypotheses and see if they seem reasonable and plausible to
a disinterested debriefer

5. Negative or Deviant Case Analysis
 Negative cases, also known as deviant cases or outliers,

are the ones in which the respondents’ viewpoints differ or
seem not to support the main body of evidence.
 It is process searching for and discussing elements of the
data that do not support or appear to contradict patterns or
explanations that are emerging from data analysis.
 Deviant case analysis is a process for refining an analysis
until it can explain or account for a majority of cases.

6. Referential Adequacy (Archiving of data)
 Referential adequacy where part of the collected data of the
qualitative study is stored as an archive while the rest of the
collected data are analyzed.
 The researcher then conducts the data analysis on the
remaining data and develops preliminary findings.
 The researcher then returns to this archived data and
analyzes it as a way to test the validity of his or her
findings.

7.Member checking
 Member checking is a process whereby “the final report or
specific description or themes” are taken back to the
participants.
 It is “an opportunity to provide context and an alternative
interpretation”
 Typically, member checking is viewed as a technique for
establishing to the validity of an account.
 Lincoln and Guba posit that this is the most crucial technique
for establishing credibility. However, this technique is
controversial.
(Patton, 2002, p. 561). (Creswell, 2009, p. 191) By: Fikru B. Internal and External validity
The Positive Aspects of Member-checking
 Provides an opportunity to understand and assess what the
participant intended to do through his or her actions
 Gives participants opportunity to correct errors and
challenge what are perceived as wrong interpretations
 Provides the opportunity to volunteer additional
information which may be stimulated by the playing back
process
 Provides an opportunity to summarize preliminary findings

The Drawbacks and Problems with Member-checking
 Member checking relies on the assumption that there is a fixed
truth of reality that can be accounted for by a researcher and

confirmed by a respondent
 From an interpretive perspective, understanding is co-created and
there is no objective truth or reality to which the results of a study can
be compared.
 The process of member-checking may lead to confusion rather than
confirmation because participants may change their mind about an
issue,
 The interview itself may have an impact on their original assessment,
and new experiences (since the time of contact) may have intervened
The Drawbacks and Problems with Member-checking cont..
 Respondents may disagree with researcher's

interpretations. Then the question of whose interpretation
should stand becomes an issue.
 Members strive to be perceived as good people;
researchers strive to be seen as good scholars.
 These divergent goals may shape findings and result in
different ways of seeing and reacting to data.
 Members may tell stories during an interview that they
later regret or see differently.
2. Transferability
 Transferability: the extent to which findings are useful
to persons in other settings..
 It describing a phenomenon in sufficient detail one can
begin to evaluate the extent to which the conclusions
drawn are transferable to other times, settings, situations,
and people.
 The is readers actually determine how applicable the
findings are to their situations

Techniques for establishing transferability
Thick Description
 Thick description refers to the detailed account of field

experiences in which the researcher makes explicit the patterns of
cultural and social relationships and puts them in context
 Thick description Important for two main reasons
 First, thick description is seen as a form of building

trustworthiness and validity. The reader can see for themselves the
depth of the data and analyses.
 Second, the depth of the descriptions allows the reader to

determine how the study findings may transfer to other situations.
Thick Description cont. …
 Readers must be the ones to determine whether the
qualitative inquiry is transferable, not the researcher.
 More details give readers more power to discern which
results might transfer to their contexts and which might
not.
 The rigorous qualitative researcher provides readers with
sufficient detail to determine for themselves whether study
results will transfer to their unique contexts.

3.Dependability
 Dependability: is the standard by which the logic,

reasoning, methods, and results are expected to be stable or
consistent over time.
 The dependability in a qualitative study to check, if the
researcher has been careless or made mistakes in
conceptualizing the study, collecting the data, interpreting
the findings and reporting results.
 The more consistent the researcher in research process, the
more dependable are the results
Techniques for establishing dependability
External Audits/ Inquiry Audit/
 External audits involve having a researcher not involved in
the research process examine both the process and product
of the research study.
 The purpose is to evaluate the accuracy and evaluate
whether or not the findings, interpretations and
conclusions are supported by the data.
Robort wood Johnson foundation: Qualitative Research Guidelines

Project." July 2006. http://www.qualres.org/HomeInte-3516.html
The Positive Aspects of External Auditing
 External audits are conducted to foster the accuracy or validity
of a research study.
 External audits provide an opportunity for an outsider to
challenge the process and findings of a research study.
This can provide:

 an opportunity to summarize preliminary findings
 an opportunity to assess adequacy of data and preliminary
results
 important feedback that can lead to additional data gathering
and the development of stronger and better articulated findings
The Drawbacks with External Auditing
 External auditing relies on the assumption that there is a fixed truth or
reality that can be accounted for by a researcher and confirmed by an
outside auditor
 From an interpretive perspective, understanding is co-created and
there is no objective truth or reality to which the results of a study
can be compared
 An external auditor cannot know the data as well as researchers
immersed in the study and may not share the same point of view.
 This may lead to different understandings of the data. How to manage
these different ways of seeing can be problematic.

4.Confirmability
 Confirmability. It is the neutrality or the degree findings
are consistent and could be repeated.
 This is analogous to objectivity in quantitative research.
 Strategies Guba (1981) viewed neutrality not as
researcher objectivity but as data and interpretational.
 Methods include maintenance of an audit trail of
analysis and methodological memos of log.

Techniques for establishing confirmability
1. Audit Trail.
 An audit trail is a transparent description of the research
steps taken from the start of a research project to the
development and reporting of findings.
 These are records that are kept regarding what was done
in an investigation.
 It is Importance of creating and reporting one's audit trail

Categories for reporting information when develop an
audit trail:
1. Raw data - including all raw data, written field notes,
unobstrusive measures (other documents).
2. Data reduction and analysis products, including

summaries; such as condensed notes,
3. Data reconstruction and synthesis product, including

themes, results, conclusions, and reports.
4. Process notes - including methodological notes

(procedures, designs, strategies, rationales), trustworthiness
notes (relating to credibility, dependability
Categories for reporting information when develop an
audit trail cont. ....
5. Materials relating to intentions and dispositions -
including inquiry
proposal, personal notes (reflexive notes and motivations)
6. Instrument development information - including pilot
forms, preliminary schedules, observation formats charts

2. Reflexivity
 Reflexivity is an attitude of attending systematically to the context of
knowledge construction, especially to the effect of the researcher, at
every step of the research process.
 This is the process whereby researchers report on personal beliefs,
values, and biases that may shape their inquiry.
 It is particularly important for researchers to acknowledge and
describe their entering beliefs and biases early in the research process.
 This is to allow readers to understand their positions, and then to
bracket or suspend those researcher biases as the study proceeds.

Steps to foster reflexivity and reflexive research design
1.Designing research that includes multiple investigators
 This can foster dialogue, lead to the development of
complementary as well as divergent understandings of a
study situation .
 provide a context in which researchers' - often hidden -
beliefs, values, perspectives and assumptions can be
revealed and contested.
2. Develop a reflexive journal (Lincoln and Guba). --

This is a type of diary where a researcher makes regular
entries during the research process.
Steps to foster reflexivity and reflexive research design cont...
 In these entries, the researcher records methodological decisions

and the reasons for them,
 The logistics of the study and reflection upon what is happening
in terms of one's own values and interests.
3. Report research perspectives, positions, values and beliefs in

manuscripts and other publications.
 It is valuable and essential to briefly report in manuscripts, as
best as possible,
 how one's preconceptions, beliefs, values, assumptions and
position may have come into play during the research process.
Reference (some of them)
1. Bernard, H.R., 2006. Research methods in anthropology: qualitative and
quantitative approaches, 4. ed. ed
2. Bogdan, R., Biklen, S.K., 2007. Qualitative research for education: an
introduction to theories and methods, 5th ed. ed. Pearson A& B, Boston,
Mass.
3. Campbell, D.T., Stanley, J.C., 2011. Experimental and quasi-experimental
designs for research.Wadsworth, Belomt, CA.
4. Creswell, John W., 2014. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and
mixed methods approaches, 3rd ed. SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte.Ltd.
5. Creswell, J.W., Miller, D.L., 2000. Determining Validity in Qualitative
Inquiry. Theory Into Practice 39, 124–130.
https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip3903_2
6. Denise F. Polit,CherylTatano Beck, 2012. Essentials of Nursing Research:
Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice.
7. Denzin, N.K., Lincoln, Y.S., 2018. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative
Research 1682. By: Fikru B. Internal and External validity
Acknowledgment
I would like Express My special thanks to Professor

Kassahun Alemu Gelaye, who gave me to the opportunities
to this presentation and I come to know about Internal and
External validity In Qualitative Research so many new
things.


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DILLA UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCE

Research tools and theory

PHD SEMINAR REPORT

Internal and External validity In Qualitative

Prepared By: Fikru Bedecha

Submitted: Kassahun Alemu Gelaye, (Professor of Public Health

Philosophical and methodological issues in qualitative

Internal and External validity (trustworthiness) in qualitative

By: Fikru B. Internal and External validity

1.1. What Qualitative research

Creswell, John W., 2014. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and

1.Naturalistic: The natural setting is the direct source of data,

 Qualitative researchers go directly to the Particular setting

 They spend a considerable amount of time in the site

2.Descriptive Data; Qualitative research is descriptive.

By: Fikru B. Internal and External validity

3.Concern with Process: Qualitative researchers are concerned with

process as well as product.

 Qualitative researchers are especially interested in how things occur.

4.Inductive: Qualitative researchers tend to analyze their data

Qualitative researchers do not, usually, formulate a hypothesis

5. Meaning: Meaning is of essential concern to the qualitative

Bogdan, R., Biklen, S.K., 2007. Qualitative research for education: an

 Methodology: it is procedure for the attainment of a goal,

 Two principal paradigms that have predominated in social

 The views held regarding the research and in turn impact

 Originates from research in natural sciences.

By: Fikru B. Internal and External validity

 Constructivist research is interested in accessing these individual views.

 The influence of the human researcher is acknowledge, and cannot be

 Instead the researcher is used in the co-creation of new knowledge that is

 knowledge, values and ethics

DeJaeghere, J., et.al , 2020. Guidance Note on Qualitative Research in

By: Fikru B. Internal and External validity

 A researcher undertaking a phenomenological study investigates various

reactions to, or perceptions of, a particular phenomenon.

 Also attempts to identify the commonalities among different individual

 Phenomenologists generally assume that there is some commonality to how

human beings perceive and interpret similar experiences;

 This commonality of perception is referred to as the essence the essential

characteristic(s) of the experience.

loved ones, care for handicapped persons,

By: Fikru B. Internal and External validity

 Internal validity is the term used to refer to the extent

Campbell, D.T., Stanley, J.C., 2011. Experimental and quasi-

1.Truth Value—establishing confidence in the truth of the

2. Applicability—extent to which the findings have usefulness

3. Consistency—these findings can be repeated

4. Neutrality—the degree to which the findings are

 Many qualitative researchers avoid the terms validity and

Krefting, L., 1991. Rigor in Qualitative Research: The

 The criterion of internal validity corresponds with the question

In studies where a causal connection is assumed between

2. External validity (the approximate validity) it is infer that the

 It corresponds with the question about the applicability of the

Campbell, D.T., Stanley, J.C., 2011. Experimental and quasi-

3.The criterion of reliability then corresponds with the

 It is assumed that each repetition of the application of the

Egon G. Guba, E.G.G.R., 1981. : Criteria for Assessing the Trustworthiness of

4. The criterion of objectivity matches the question about

 In the positivist research paradigm, the usual touchstone for