Bridging Conceptions of Quality in Moments of Qualitative Research

Bibliographic Data

ID2410414
AuthorsMichael John Ravenek, Debbie Laliberte Rudman (0000-0002-5486-8994)
Year2013
Volume12
Issue1
Pages436-456
Publication date2013-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Qualitative Methods (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1609-4069 • E-ISSN: 1609-4069
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/160940691301200122
OpenAlexW1498958831
LanguageEN
Citations received26
References cited27

Quality assessment in qualitative research has been, and remains, a contentious issue. The qualitative literature contains a diversity of opinions on definitions of and criteria for quality. This article attempts to organize this diversity, drawing on several examples of existing quality criteria, into four main approaches: qualitative as quantitative criteria, paradigm-specific criteria, individualized assessment, and bridging criteria. These different approaches can be mapped onto the historical transitions, or moments, in qualitative research presented by Denzin and Lincoln and, as such, they are presented alongside the various criteria reviewed. Socio-political conditions that have led us to a fractured future, where the value and significance of qualitative work may be marginalized, support the adoption of bridging criteria. These broadly applicable criteria provide means to assess quality and can be flexibly applied among the diversity of qualitative approaches used by researchers. Five categories that summarize the language used within bridging criteria are presented as a means to move forward in developing an approach to quality assessment that fosters communication and connections within the diversity of qualitative research, while simultaneously respecting and valuing paradigmatic and methodological diversity

Bridging (networking · Diversity (politics · Engineering ethics · Epistemology · Management science · Qualitative analysis · Qualitative research · Quality (philosophy · Social science · Sociology · Computer Science · Engineering · Evaluation and Performance Assessment · Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics