Reading response: Week 3

“To put it more directly but quite indelicately, no one cares what we think – the scholarly community only cares what we can demonstrate.” (King et al.: p. 15)

This quote is the one that most called my attention in the readings. It also summarizes in some may what I think is one of the main ideas for this week’s readings: the importance of evidence in research. Not only the researcher needs to study the literature about his/her topic and establish a strong research methodology, but in the end he/she needs to demonstrate that the project is a significant contribution to the field. For example, in discussing reliability as part of the evaluation of qualitative research, Gorman & Clayton states,

"In qualitative research, because it is frequently the researcher who acts as ‘instrument’ or data gatherer, it is difficult to establish the reliability of the researcher. However, if the researcher notes his or her own assumptions and biases so that these may, if necessary, be discounted; fully and carefully explains the data gathering procedures used; keeps thorough notes; and uses multiple sources of data to verify observations, then we are more likely to accept these data as reliable." (p. 24)

In their explanation about the various criteria for choosing a research question, King et al. list a number of possibilities researchers can look at to make a contribution to the scholarly literature. (King, et al.: p. 16- 17) All six possibilities listed are closely related to evidence. Even if the research is to strengthen or disagree in accepted hypothesis, or to bring into attention an important topic that has been overlook in the literature, the goal of your research will be to demonstrate with strong evidence the answers to your questions.

As discussed last week, and in most of the readings, one of the main criticisms to qualitative research is that the project can be very much influenced by the researcher’s personal perspectives, and though this can cause questions to the research’s validity. However, and in some way different from quantitative research, the goal of qualitative research is not to produce standard results that can be replicated by other researchers studying the same situation. The real goal is “to produce a coherent and illuminating description of and perspective on a situation that is based on and consistent with detailed study of that situation.” (Ward in Huberman & Miles: p. 174) What is important in terms of validity is that the researcher can show strong evidence supporting his or her work, which is what Ward calls “internal validity.”