CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.7 The Trustworthiness of the Research Findings
Mixed methods significantly ensure the quality of the research findings. It is referred to as the trustworthiness of the research. Standardizing the data collection process is one technique to account for measurement issues and improve the validity of the performance indicator. When deciding on people's behavior, a standard approach must be followed across all instruments to acquire, analyze, and deliver reliable and sound information.
Credibility, applicability, dependability, and confirmability are included in Denzin and Lincoln's (1998) list of trustworthiness criteria, and they are formed like
the conventional criteria of internal/external validity, reliability, and neutrality. Thus, the rigor of research can also be based on Krefting's model, which includes four dimensions of trustworthiness relevant to both quantitative and qualitative investigations, namely truth value, application, consistency, and neutrality. The trustworthiness of this research was established through the ensuring of validity, reliability, credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability, and includes triangulation.
3.7.1 The Validity and Reliability of the Data
The broad and participatory nature of the studies added to the research's legitimacy. The importance of construct validity, thoroughness, accuracy (internal validity), and external validity (the extent, to which results could be generalized) were insured by setting quality criteria. It is assumed that stakeholders in the same group of Nepalese e-government management may have similar backgrounds. To assure validity, all organizations used the same devices, people, and processes for gathering data. This precaution was taken to make sure the model had the intended effect. It's possible that the instrument's pre-test and piloting will provide an opportunity to check and adjust instruments. The research assistants who helped gather the data were put through training, briefings, and debriefing sessions. Internal validity relates to the degree to which the findings of the research were caused by the mechanisms identified. Internal validity refers to the extent to which the findings of the research are due to e-advantage governances over traditional governance systems in this study.
People in the same neighborhoods are thought to have similar upbringings. For an additional validity guarantee, all organizations used the same devices, people, and processes for gathering data. The study's design may also make it possible to identify and isolate intervening variables like class, ability, and prior experience, the presence of which may have affected the outcome if left unchecked. We were able to do this because we selected classes that were as homogeneous as feasible. The questionnaire was pre-tested before data collection. This precaution was taken to make sure the model had the intended effect. Additionally, the study's validity was improved by using a mixed-approaches strategy that combined qualitative and quantitative methods. This integration may make it possible to investigate the role of e-governance in fostering
improvement, as well as to collect data using diverse methods and methodologies. The facilitators received training, briefings, and debriefings as needed. The study's external validity was assessed from two angles: demographic validity and ecological validity.
Every member of the group was deemed a participant from among the designated government entities from various backgrounds.
The study's reliability was assured by using many sources of evidence, which resulted in triangulation of data, extensive, rich, and thick explanations of the researcher's premises and position in the inquiry, data collecting, category creation, decision-making mechanisms, and final results. As a result, the information was accurate and trustworthy. Pre-tested instruments were used to ensure reliability and validity, and feedback from experts who provided the research concept was gathered.
To improve the research design even further, the scientist altered the existing tools.
The Credibility of the Research Findings: Credibility in qualitative research refers to the degree to which the data and the analysis of the data are believable and trustworthy. Research findings were held to a high standard of credibility through a procedure called referential adequacy, which involved gathering a variety of evidence such as official records, photographs, transcripts of interviews and focus group discussions, and even field notes. They were made available for future use and therefore established the sufficiency of reference for this study. To increase the study's credibility, triangulation compared data from several sources to evaluate the same variables. Long-term involvement may improve credibility by giving the researcher the chance to build a relationship of trust with the research subjects. Peer debriefing can help establish credibility by enticing participants to provide extra information for analysis. Member checks also strengthened the credibility of the findings by subjecting them to the extra interpretations and opinions of the research participants.
3.7.2 The Role of the Researcher
Qualitative data was produced and interpreted by the researcher, and the researcher's identity, values, and beliefs cannot be completely separated from the study process. The researcher adopted an e-governance-based frame of reference as an institutional leader. From this point of departure, the researcher planned a theoretical framework for the development of rapport, to accommodate the personnel of the
research sites who were the participants of this study. In this frame of reference, the researchers self-played an important role in the analysis of the data.