Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology
3.4 Validity
3.4.1 Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness of findings is important in qualitative research and it is largely concerned with human behavior or experiences (Ary et al., 2006). Therefore, it is vital that qualitative researchers consider transferability, dependability, credibility and confirmability (Cohen et al.,
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2007). I had to ensure that these issues are taken care of during the data generation and analysis before the findings were published. To ensure that the data generated was of high quality and can be trustworthy one must ask oneself, “can they be confident on the researcher’s observations, interpretations, and conclusions? Are they believable (credible)?” (Ary et al., 2006, p. 498).
Since credibility is concerned about truthfulness of the study, I had to ensure that errors were dealt with in the research design, selection of the participants and taking in to account the context of the study. I used the correct methodology to conduct this study, for example: the paradigm matched the research style or design and the sampling. Moreover, I used the check points i.e.
after preparing the research proposal I defended it and it was declared passed with some corrections to ensure that the study is in line with the University research ethics. Secondly, each chapter was submitted to the supervisor in order to rectify errors. Hodge et al. (2012), assert that credibility in research is more concerned with the interpretation of observations and interviews transcripts than to whether or not the conclusions made by the researcher are supported by the data in hand. The participants agreed that after analysis or transcribing, the data can be given to peers for debriefing to ensure that the conclusions I made about the data are exactly in the participant words. I indeed gave the analysis to peers for debriefing to ensure the data are the true reflection of the participants’ words.
Although the qualitative researcher typically does not have generalizability as a goal, it is his or her responsibility to provide sufficiently rich, detailed, thick descriptions of the context so that potential users can make the necessary comparisons and judgments about similarity and hence transferability (Ary et al., 2006, p. 501).
This suggests that the data cannot be generalised because qualitative studies deal with people’s behavior which changes overtime. Moreover, the historical background of one context may not be the same as another. Therefore, the results of this study may not be transferable unless they can be of benefit to other teachers who are in a similar context and sample. The details about the context of the study are stated in chapter one as well as the sampling in chapter three, should other teachers want to use the findings from this study.
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Ary et al. (2006, p. 502), note that “…qualitative studies expect variability because the context of studies changes”. They further stated that for the researcher to investigate dependability in the study he or she must use these strategies: an audit trail, replication logic, stepwise replication, code–recoding, interrater comparisons, and triangulation. These strategies were all applicable to this study and they were used to ensure dependability. Direct quotes were used as this was done to allow readers to assess the findings of this study. Moreover, I used audio and video records in data generation to ensure that during data analysis participants’ words were represented in the form of direct quotes. Therefore, I ensured that the results of this study were accurate. Lastly, Bertram and Christiansen (2014), caution that the qualities of the researcher, such as his or her knowledge of the field being researched and his educational background especially in research, can influence the data generation process. Therefore, as a researcher and teacher in the same school where this study was conducted, during the interviews I ensured that I did not include my understanding of the field being studied (physical education), especially understandings gained from other sources. I understood that the findings from this study were not going to be the same as those of other sources. Therefore, I reminded myself that I was a researcher and that the participants needed to respond to the researcher and not their colleague (this was explained to the participants before the data generation).
3.4.2 Limitations
Bertram and Christiansen (2014), mentioned a lot of issues that can cause limitation or influence the data generation in any research. Some of the issues they stated include the researcher, the participants and the context where the study is taking place. This usually happen during the interview session. There were limitations in this study too as any research did encounter challenges. However, the challenges were addressed to ensure that this study becomes a success because this study was done to raise awareness to the teachers about their behaviour that somehow fail the curriculum (Stake, 1995). The important issue to be taken in to consideration is that without the permission a study cannot be conducted because of the ethical issues. In this regard, permission to conduct this study was granted through signed consent letters by the Mpumalanga Department of Education; the University of Kwazulu-Natal; and the teachers themselves. These were the most important bodies that could or could not have given this study
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the go ahead. It was vital that ethical issues being handled with care and the participants had to understand everything about the study they were participating in so that they could make an informed decision about their participation.
The status of a researcher can cause participants to feel uncomfortable revealing the information they should reveal. Fortunately, it was easy for the teachers (the participants) to talk to me because they knew me as their colleague. Therefore, I created a relationship based on trust with the participants so that they would feel comfortable enough to express themselves without any fear. The participants agreed to take part in this study because they understood that I was not going to deceive them. The consent letter clearly defined everything that was expected from them and the nature of the study. This was also done to ensure that the participants do not come across something they had not agreed on that may lead to their withdrawal from the study. The context was one issue that even now remains a limitation. It was clear in this case that teachers were not aware of what a research entails, especially among those who studied long time ago.
However, I had to be patient with them and explained that the nature of the study intended, not to expose anyone, but rather to help them realise how their experiences affected their teaching and learning. Correspondingly, the sampling is important; the participants included in the study were people with a background in the field being studied. This was done to ensure that relevant information is generated from the participants because they know what it is like to be in a foundation phase classroom. The participants selected for this study were strictly foundation phase teachers as they had years of experience in teaching the foundation phase.