Quality & Ethics in Research

• Quality & Ethics in Research is presented by Hina Hashim ([email protected])

Outline:

• Quality in research is part of the outline
• Basis of rigor in quantitative research is part of the outline
• Basis of rigor in qualitative research is part of the outline
• Research ethics is part of the outline

Quality in Research

• Rigor in the research process includes:
  • Strictness
  • Carefulness
  • Scrupulousness (attention to detail)
  • Exactness

Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches

• Quantitative philosophical approaches in research can includes Positivism
• Qualitative philosophical approaches in Research can include Interpretivism/Constructionism
• Quantitative approach to knowledge is Nomothetic
• Qualitative approach to knowledge is Idiographic
• Truth in quantitative research includes certain measurement and analysis of data
• Truth in qualitative research is constructed in social exchange
• Basis of rigor in quantitative research includes statistical reliability and validity
• Basis of rigor in qualitative research includes credibility, dependability, and confirmability

Rigour in Quantitative Research/Quality

• Validity equates to the accuracy of used metrics
  • Measures what it is supposed to measure
  • Internal - what is intended to be measured
  • External - the measurement across different settings, procedures, and participants.
• Reliability is consistency
  • A test is considered reliable if it can reproduce consistent result over time, when what is being measured hasn't changed

Validity

• Validity determines how well a test or method measures what it is supposed to measure
• Construct validity determines the degree to which a test measures what it claims, asking if the operationalization accurately reflects its constructs:
  • Convergent validity
  • Discriminant/divergent validity
• Criterion related validity includes:
  • Assesses how well one measure predicts an outcome based on the criterion.
  • Predictive validity
  • Concurrent validity

Statistical Validity

• Test Results "Yes", Reality "Yes" results in Valid
• Test Results "Yes", Reality "No" results in False positive, Type I error
• Test Results "No", Reality "Yes" results in False negative, Type II error
• Test Results "No", Reality "No" results in Valid

Validity (continued)

• External Validity refers to the ability to generalize effects to other persons, places, or times
• Internal Validity refers a casual relationship
• Conclusion Validity means determining if the study depicts a relationship between the two variables.
• Construct Validity refers constructing an accurate measure of the variables

Reliability details measurement error:

• Consistency or stability in measurement is key
• There are two sources of measurement error
  • Systematic error refers to consistent and repeatable errors due to a problem in measurement system
  • Random error refers to unpredictable and irregular fluctuations that occur during measurement

Texts of Reliability

• Include:
  • Test - retest
  • Alternative forms (test again in another way)
  • Split-halves (divide the test items into two halves, and compare results)
  • Inter-rater reliability (compare raters)
  • Internal consistency (cronbach's alpha)

Generalizing in Quantitative Research

• Concerns making a statistical inference from the analysis results to a larger population/context
• When doing so you need:
  • Statistically significant results
  • Reliable results
  • Valid results

Generalizing in Qualitative Research

• Generalizing here involves transferring the learning from the study analysis to a more conceptual understanding
• When doing so you need:
  • Credible findings
  • Dependable findings
  • Critical reflection of the specific and general
  • Character of the studied case(s)

Qualitative Research and Rigour

• Quantitative approaches philosophical Positivism
• Qualitative approaches philosophical Interpretivism/Constructionism
• Quantitative approach to knowledge is Nomothetic
• Qualitative approach to knowledge is Idiographic
• Truth in quantitative research comes from certain measurement and analysis of data
• Truth in qualitative research is constructed in social exchange
• Basis of rigor in quantitative research includes statistical reliability and validity
• Basis of rigor in qualitative research includes credibility, dependability, and confirmability

Validity

• Credibility indicates confidence in the truth of the findings
• Transferability indicates findings have applicability in other contexts.
• Dependability means the findings are consistent and could be repeated over time
• Confirmability is a degree of neutrality to which the findings of a study are shaped by the respondents and not by the researcher bias, motivation or interest (Lincoln & Guba, 1985)

Strategies for Enhancing Trustworthiness

• These enhance research:
  • Prolonged engagement
  • Persistent observation
  • Triangulation
  • Peer debriefing
  • Member checking (Lincoln & Guba, 1995)

Reflexivity

• Is an attitude of attending systematically to the context of knowledge construction, especially to the effect of the researcher at every step of the research process (Cohen D, Crabtree B. 2006)
• To foster this:
  • Include multiple researchers
  • Keep a reflexive journal
  • Report research perspectives, positions, values and beliefs
  • Preconceptions are not the same as bias, unless the researcher fails to mention them (Malterud, 2001)

Ethics

• Includes thinking of What ethics is all about

3 Approaches to Ethics

• Consequentialism - consider the consequences of actions
• Deontology - good behaviour
• Virtue ethics - goodness through "desirable traits"

Ethical Issues in Research

• Issues relative to study participants:
  • Humane treatment of subjects
  • Informed consent
  • Voluntary participation
  • Confidentiality
  • Anonymity
  • Protected groups
• Issues relative to society:
  • Data security
  • Capacity
  • Conflict of interests
  • Social responsibility

Ethical Concern

• Procedural ethics (externally defined) includes:
  • Informed consent
  • Confidentiality
  • Right to privacy
  • Deception
  • Protection of participants from harm
• Ethics in practice (researchers virtue) includes:
  • Design and labels based on cultural stereotypes
  • Treatment of data
  • Reporting of results

GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation

• Consider GDPR if collecting "personal data"
• SLU has a standard letter of consent template
• No need to be concerned if not working with data that includes person identification data
• Full information at this link: https://internt.slu.se/en/support-services/administrative-support/legal-affairs-data-protection-info-management/data-protection/>