Methodological Consistency of Qualitative Research in Psychology
There is a common phenomenon that researchers using qualitative research in psychology lack of methodological level of thinking,which leads to the inconsistency of methodology,approaches and procedures,and ultimately cause the poor validity of the study.This study attempts to clarify how to achieve the methodological consistency of qualitative research methodology,approaches and procedures,and guide researchers to move from spontaneous to conscious selection of methodological position,approaches and procedures,so that qualitative research can be more rigorous and standardized,and the quality and validity would be improved.The scientific methodological system is typically divided into three levels:methodology,approaches,and procedures.The primary methodological categories of qualitative research in psychology include post-positivism,phenomenology,hermeneutics,and social constructionism.Qualitative research includes approaches,such as grounded theory,ethnography,phenomenology,psychobiography,and narrative analysis.Different approaches contain various procedures which consist of literature review,question formulation,data collection,and data analysis techniques.The research approach,which is guided by methodology and contains specific procedures,integrates methodology and specific procedures.The matching of methodology,research approach,and procedures is called methodological consistency.To achieve methodological consistency,firstly,researchers must clarify their methodological status.Researchers applying different research paradigms see the"world"differently,focus on different problems,and solve them in distinct ways.The details and aspects of experience mean a lot in phenomenological research while the"action of language"plays an important role in social constructionist research.Secondly,researchers should be clearly aware of the methodological assumption of the selecting research approach.For example,when using the grounded theory,it can be guided by critical realism or constructionism,which must be clearly demonstrated by the researcher.In addition,whether the research approach is appropriate to the purpose of research need to be considered.Thirdly,the specific research procedures must be consistent with the research approach and methodology.The same research strategies are used in various ways and they have different emphasis in different research approaches and methodologies.The methodology and research approaches somehow determine how researchers ask questions,interview strategies,coding methods,the analysis process,text writing,and so on.This study argues that methodological consistency can be achieved by following means.Firstly,researchers should be problem-centered and the approach used in the research should be chosen according to the possibility and feasibility of answering the research question.Secondly,researchers can promote methodological consistency by enhancing the reflexivity of their research.Reflexivity is essential to establish rigor and validity and can be demonstrated at all stages of the study.Thirdly,this study proposes that methodological consistency should be included in the criteria for evaluating the quality of qualitative research.Assessing whether the researcher clarifies the methodological position and the consistency of the research orientation,research objectives,research approaches,research procedures,and analytical perspectives can improve the validity of the study.Although there is no single standard for delineating methodologies,research approaches,and specific research procedures,it is undeniable that the researcher must carefully manage the relationship between methodology,research approach and procedures,and consider how to produce more insightful and meaningful qualitative research by achieving methodological consistency.
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