Criteria for Evaluating Qualitative Research

• Evaluate you, yourself as a researcher, your skills to interview.
• The researcher's background, interests, motivations, for the research may influence the respondents. (You have to make yourself as in ignorant. Be humble.):

• Common mistakes: Allow expectations and preconceived ideas to affect what they observe, interpret and conclude.
• The method of selecting participants should be clear:
  • A few persons in depth rather than many samples more superficially
  • The choice of participants is critical to the results of the study
  • It is best if the participants represent the diversity of persons in the setting
• The degree of researcher involvement in the setting should be indicated
• Field notes should contain detailed objective descriptions of just about everything
• Researchers should be trained to collect the data
• Descriptions should be separated with interpretations - you tell what you saw.
• The researcher should use multiple methods of data collection (use to corroborate your findings) - to gain credibility
  • Triangulation:
    • Multiple methods of data collection:
      • interview/ Observation
      • data triangulation - more than one types of samples
  • The study may be long enough - particularly ethnography
    • interviews cannot be done only for 20 minutes - observation last only for a few hours
    • Time spent with the participants should be revealed

The differences between delimitations and limitations:

Delimitations:

• Scope of your study/what are the boundaries

Limitations:

• Shortcomings/you cannot avoid