EDS 102 – WEEK 9

May 27, 2025

Agenda

“All research is concerned with producing valid and reliable knowledge in an ethical manner” (Merriam & Tisdell, p. 237).

Research must be rigorously conducted so that people can have confidence in the results

What would make you have confidence in a study?��Discuss at your tables and be prepared to share.

Challenges raised about qualitative research

Three main concepts

Validity and reliability

Validity and reliability in a qualitative study involve providing detailed information about the study’s processes and sufficient evidence so that readers can determine if the results are trustworthy.

Internal Validity

Internal Validity – Do research findings match reality? Are they credible?

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In qualitative research, interpretations of reality are accessed directly through participants’ observations and interviews. 

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... But what is reality? So we ask: Are the findings credible given the data presented?

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What contributes to internal validity?

• Triangulation—using more than one data collection method, multiple sources of data, multiple investigators or multiple theories—is probably the most well-known strategy to improve the internal validity of a study.
• Member Checks/Respondent Validation involves soliciting feedback on your emerging findings from some of the people that you interviewed.

What contributes to internal validity? (cont’d)

• Adequate Engagement in Data Collection so you can get as close as possible to participants’ understanding of a phenomenon. Aim for data saturation – the point at which data reported becomes repetitive. 

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• Look for data that support alternative explanations

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• Clarify researcher perspective – Explain how your identity, beliefs, biases, and experiences influenced the study�

What contributes to internal validity? (cont’d)

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Peer review – Engage in a process by which peers read and comment on study. This can occur through:

• Peer review publication process
• A student’s thesis committee
• Asking a colleague to review and comment on your work�

External Validity

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External validity (generalizability) -- Can the findings apply to other situations?

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The goal in qualitative research is not to generalize to populations in the statistical sense. But we can generalize to theory, and we can take steps to increase the transferability of the study’s findings.

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What contributes to external validity?

• Rich, thick description – detailed presentation of the setting and the findings
• Maximum variation – purposefully picking a wide range of sites/participants

An example

Read the methods section of the paper on EL access to computer science.

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How was internal validity supported? External validity? Reliability? What else would you want to know about these aspects of the study?

Reliability

What contributes to reliability?

Ethics in qualitative research

Ethical considerations in qualitative research

• The protection of human subjects in research is monitored by Institutional Review Boards - IRBs (in universities and other entities)
• Need both IRB and site approval
• Informed consent
• Participants’ right to privacy
• Reciprocity between researchers and participants

“Qualitative researchers are guests in the private spaces of the world. Their manners should be good and their code of ethics strict. ”

(Stake, 2005, p. 459)

Ethical issues must be considered at all stages of the research process

• Prior to conducting the study
• Seek site/community and IRB approval
• Obtain informed consent from participants

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• During data collection
• Interviews can elicit painful memories
• Observations can uncover problematic behaviors, and researchers must decide when to intervene
• Researchers must report participant’s intention to harm self or others, as well as child or elder abuse
• Confidentiality and security issues with the data

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Ethical issues must be considered at all stages of the research process

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• When reporting research results
• Anonymity
• Impact of reporting negative findings
• Data ownership

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Research involving youth

For research that involves participants under the age of 18, you must obtain:

1. A parental consent and
2. An adolescent assent (for children aged 13-17 years) and/or child assent (children 7-12 years of age)

Hypothetical ethical dilemmas in qualitative research

• In conducting an interview with a district administrator, you learn that the principal is likely to get fired if they continue to pursue a particular course of action. Do you let the principal know?
• Completed participant consent forms were stolen when your car was broken into. What do you do?
• In interviewing a high school senior about their knowledge of financial aid, you realize that they have incorrect information about the FAFSA, which could cause them to not receive the funding they need to attend college. Do you share what you know?

Extra credit (3 points)

Don’t forget about the extra credit opportunity to complete

the CITI training. Details are on the syllabus.

Looking ahead

For class on Thursday May 29:

Read article by Django Paris

Class is asynchronous. Watch the video lecture and submit the activity.

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Due June 6 - Reading analysis

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There is no final exam for this class

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And…

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Looking ahead

On June 3 we’ll have a special guest lecture and Q and A with an author of one of the articles we read. Please post questions before class!

Assistant Professor Maria Aragón, Education Studies at UC San Diego