truth emerged from the data. Peer debriefing provides researchers with another
professional’s opinion and views of the data. A peer who does the debriefing
should be at the same educational and positional levels as the researcher and
should be considered a colleague but not a supervisor or boss.
Using the constant comparison method, researchers may choose to do member
checks in which participants are asked to confirm the results as data collection
progresses. Another strategy, negative case analysis, includes analyzing cases
that do not seem to fit the patterns or categories that emerge and exploring the
reasons for this. Other strategies involve keeping a reflective journal that details
thoughts and ideas as they emerge and relating the research findings of others’
studies to one’s own. In addition, researchers should have appropriate exper-
tise, skills, and established credentials to carry out the study. “The presence of
the researcher is integral and should be acknowledged” (Barham, 2013, para. 5).
All of these strategies are used to both establish and evaluate credibility.
Triangulation is another way to promote credibility of qualitative research.
This strategy uses different research methods to gather and compare data. Two
ways that triangulation helps to establish credibility include confirming the data
and ensuring completeness of the data. So, if data gathered through various
methods or sources are found to be consistent, the credibility of the research is
promoted (Houghton et al., 2013). Additionally, reflexivity, or reflective jour-
naling, also promotes credibility of findings by demonstrating the researcher’s
thoughts during the entire process. The researcher records thoughts, ideas, and
decisions during data gathering and refers to them throughout the analysis and
when developing themes and deriving patterns from the data.Transferability
Transferability relates to external validity, generalizability, or fittingness of the
data (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Although the purpose of qualitative research
is not specifically to generalize, it is necessary to note the significance of the
study with relation to its importance in helping understand a phenomenon in
different contexts or situations. For example, a qualitative study uncovers themes
about the lived experience of waiting for a heart transplant. Nurses working with
transplant patients would need to consider whether these findings are transfer-
able to individuals waiting for another type of organ transplant. Certainly, if the
findings of a study are congruent with existing research or theoretical frame-
works, this supports transferability. Other strategies used to meet this criterion
include providing a clear explanation of the limitations of the study, giving thick
descriptions of the study context and setting, leaving a paper trail that can be
followed, checking that the data are representative in most cases, and making
suggestions for other settings to test the findings. In addition, if the study is
sufficiently described so that it can be replicated, transferability is supported.KEY TERMS
member checks:
A strategy used
in qualitative
studies when the
researcher goes
back to participants
and shares the
results with them to
ensure the findings
reflect what
participants said
negative case
analysis: A
qualitative
strategy involving
the analysis of
cases that do not
fit patterns or
categories
triangulation: Use
of different research
methods in
qualitative research
to gather and
compare data
reflexivity: Using
a journal to record
thoughts, ideas, and
decisions during
qualitative data
gathering394 CHAPTER 14 What Do the Qualitative Data Mean?