Abstract
A variety of conceptions of qualitative research exist, with competing claims as to what counts as good quality work. Rather than opting for the criteria promoted by one variety, “paradigm,” “moment,” or school within qualitative research, practicing researchers can learn valuable lessons from each one. This is because social research is a craft skill, relatively autonomous from the need to resolve philosophical disputes. At the same time, methodological awareness is a valuable mental resource in research studies. It can be acquired by exposure to almost any intelligent methodological discussion, whether from positivist, naturalistic, constructivist, or postmodern paradigms, as well as from careful consideration of research studies done by others. Particular techniques developed originally to fulfill the requirements of particular paradigms can often be used for other purposes and from within other paradigms if need be. This is illustrated in a case study of triangulation.
Keywords
Variety (cybernetics)Qualitative researchQuality (philosophy)CraftPositivismEpistemologySociologyResource (disambiguation)Engineering ethicsTriangulationManagement scienceComputer scienceSocial science
Affiliated Institutions
Related Publications
Methodological rigour within a qualitative framework
Aim. This paper discusses the literature on establishing rigour in research studies. It describes the methodological trinity of reliability, validity and generalization and expl...
The Development of Constructivist Grounded Theory
Constructivist grounded theory is a popular method for research studies primarily in the disciplines of psychology, education, and nursing. In this article, the authors aim to l...
Qualitative Quality: Eight “Big-Tent” Criteria for Excellent Qualitative Research
This article presents a model for quality in qualitative research that is uniquely expansive, yet flexible, in that it makes distinctions among qualitative research’s means (met...
Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology
"The Second Edition of Content Analysis is a sourcebook of the history and core principles of content analysis as well as an essential resource for present and future studies. T...
Catching Goldfish: Quality in Qualitative Research
This paper reviews the contribution of qualitative methods to health services research (HSR) and discusses some of the issues involved in recognizing quality in such work. The p...
Publication Info
- Year
- 1999
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 465-478
- Citations
- 1725
- Access
- Closed
External Links
Social Impact
Altmetric
PlumX Metrics
Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions
Citation Metrics
1725
OpenAlex
Cite This
Clive Seale
(1999).
Quality in Qualitative Research.
Qualitative Inquiry
, 5
(4)
, 465-478.
https://doi.org/10.1177/107780049900500402
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1177/107780049900500402