250 Education Research
Three Forms of Validity in Nutshell
Here are outlines of three forms of validity. Think about which of these models (or some creative combination of parts of these models) would be useful to you in establishing validity in your research.
Validity Model 1 - Lincoln and Guba
Guba, E. G. (1981). Criteria for assessing the trustworthiness of naturalistic
inquiries. Educational Communication and Technology, 29(2), 75—91.
Establishes validity by taking specific steps to establish:
Credibility - The researcher’s ability to take into account the complexities that emerge in a study and to deal complexities that are not easily explained.
Transferability -
refers to the researchers’ acceptance what they study is context bound and that
the goal of their work is not to establish "Generalizability" - outcomes that can be generalized to larger groups of people.
Dependability -
Refers to the degree to which the data is solid data.
| Element |
|
Description |
| Credibility |
|
- Do prolonged participation at the study site
- Do persistent observation to identify pervasive qualities as well as
atypical characteristics.
- Do peer debriefing (discuss your perspective with peers)
- Practice triangulation
-
Do member checks (Discuss your perspective with study participants) |
| Transferability |
|
- Collect detailed descriptive data
- Develop detailed descriptions of the context |
| Dependability |
|
- Overlap Methods (Similar to Triangulation
- Use combinations of methods - if a finding is present but weak, test the assumption with another instrument.
- Establish an audit trail - Document the data collection process in way that would be transparent to a future reader of your methodology. |
| Confirmability |
|
- Practice triangulation
- Practice reflexivity - Reflect often and deliberately on how your own assumptions might cause you to create a study that leads to particular conclusions. |
Validity Model 2 - Anderson, Herr and Nihlen
Anderson, G. L., Herr, K., & Nihlen, A. S. (1994). Studying your own school: An educator’s guide to qualitative practitioner research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Anderson, Herr and Nihlen establish by describing several forms of validity that are designed to support classroom teachers in developing trustworthy practitioner research studies.
| Validity |
|
Description |
| Democratic |
|
A demonstration of how multiple perspectives of all participants in the study community (students, parents, teachers and administration) are represented. |
| Outcome |
|
Actions emerging from a particular study
leads to the successful resolution of the subject of the study |
| Process |
|
The study is designed and conducted in a manner that is obviously
“dependable” and “competent". |
| Catalytic |
|
The results of a study motivate participants to take action on the basis of what they have learned from participating in the study. |
| Dialogic |
|
The strength of the findings of the study are shared and processed with peers who are capable of providing an insider critique of the study data. |
Validity Model 3 - Wolcott's Framework for Validity
Wolcott, H. F. (1994). Transforming qualitative data: Description, analysis, and interpretation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Wolcott establishes a series of researcher behaviors that support conducting valid research.
| Behavior |
|
Description |
| Talk Little, Listen a Lot |
|
Researchers should carefully monitor the ratio of speaking to listening when interacting with or interviewing participants. |
| Record Observations Accurately |
|
Behaviors witnessed by researchers make for great data, but only if they are recorded early after the event occurs, often, and accurately. Researchers should record events they witness as soon after they occur as is possible. |
| Begin Writing Early |
|
Researchers should not rely upon memory recall. Researchers should create a daily time to write and journal consistently. |
| Let Readers “See” for Themselves |
|
Researchers should not "tell" the reader what happened, but rather use the data to "show" the reader what happened. |
| Report Fully |
|
Researchers should record in as much detail as is possible. |
| Be Candid |
|
Researchers should write openly and honestly about their study. Researchers should be up front about the biases they bring to the study and how they attempted to account for their biases. |
| Seek Feedback |
|
Researchers should seek feedback often from participants and community members as your |
| Write Accurately |
|
The researcher should review as they write, checking what they write against the facts presented by the data. |
|
