Deck 9: Evaluating the Merits of Qualitative Research Studies in Kinesiology

Question 1

What does trustworthiness entail?

A) Considering certain study characteristics that may suggest high quality research.
B) Reflecting on all aspects of a study and then considering alternative approaches with the intent of having a well-conceived research plan.
C) Aligning all components of a research design with one another.
D) Convincing an audience that study findings are worth paying attention to and worth taking account of.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

When evaluating qualitative research studies, which aspects of trustworthiness should be addressed?

A) Grounded theory, case study, interpretive phenomenological analysis, and inductive analysis
B) Internal validity, external validity, reliability, and nomological network
C) Arm chair walk through, COREQ, natural setting, and WEIRD research
D) Truth value, applicability, consistency, and neutrality

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The extent to which the results and interpretations in a qualitative study reflect the participant's meanings and experiences is indicative of what?

A) Truth value
B) Triangulation
C) Applicability
D) Methodological coherence

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A researcher conducting a qualitative study strives for her study findings to be based on the participants' meanings and experiences, and not merely a function of her personal motivations and perspectives. What is the researcher striving for in this study?

A) Objectivity
B) Neutrality
C) Participant pseudonyms
D) Characterizing traits

Question 5

What is applicability?

A) An aspect of trustworthiness
B) A sampling procedure in qualitative research studies
C) A statistical analysis
D) A qualitative strategy of inquiry

Question 6

An aspect of trustworthiness that refers to the dependability of a qualitative study is known as what?

A) Applicability
B) Consistency
C) Neutrality
D) Truth Value

Question 7

Which of the following represents an audit trail?

A) A team of researchers keeps a detailed recollection of their research process, including participant recruitment materials, focus group guides, transcribed focus groups (with changes from member checks), data analysis materials (e.g., code book and detailed process), and emergent themes. Someone external to the team reviews these materials to look for any problems or issues.
B) A researcher engages in an armchair walkthrough to help plan a coherent study.
C) When researchers have some expectation about the performance of participants and are in a position to assess performance, their knowledge of the study could influence their judgment on the way they respond to participants. This may lead to coercing the participants.
D) A researcher maintains prolonged engagement with participants to enhance the quality of the research. Sustained time at the research site can help participants feel more natural in the presence of the researcher, while also allowing researchers to check their own perceptions.

Question 8

Which strategy to enhance trustworthiness, rigour, and validation is used in the following scenario?
A colleague engages with a researcher and essentially pushes the researcher to critically reflect on study findings in a way that perhaps the researchers have not yet considered.

A) Researcher reflexivity
B) Methodological coherence
C) Rich, thick descriptions
D) Peer debriefing

Question 9

Which strategy to enhance trustworthiness, rigour, and validation is used in the following scenario?
A researcher generates data from eight one-on-one semi-structured interviews with new healthcare practitioners to explore their self-care practices as they transition into full-time positions in the healthcare field. After transcribing each interview the researcher sends each participant her/his respective transcript for review.

A) An observation
B) The peer-review process
C) Member checking
D) An interpretive framework

Question 10

What does purposeful sampling in qualitative research studies include?

A) Intentionally recruiting individuals that are information-rich.
B) Assuring that the different units in the population have equal probabilities of being chosen.
C) Drawing a sample from groups of people that are convenient.
D) Dividing groups on a characteristic before random selection takes place.

Question 11

Researcher reflexivity consists of two parts. The first part entails reflecting on one's own experiences with the phenomenon/sample being studied. What is the second part of researcher reflexivity?

A) Presenting findings in a rich manner
B) Considering how one's experiences shape the research process
C) Identifying units that represent a characteristic of interest
D) Using a template to guide one's field notes

Question 12

Which strategy to enhance trustworthiness, rigour, and validation is highlighted when a researcher notes "A qualitative approach including interviews, observations, and meeting minutes were used in the data collection"?

A) External auditor
B) Prolonged time in the field
C) Clarify bias
D) Triangulation

Question 13

Which strategy to enhance trustworthiness, rigour, and validation in qualitative studies can serve multiple purposes including helping participants feel more natural in the presence of a researcher?

A) Peer debriefing
B) Prolonged engagement
C) Audit trail
D) Presenting negative or discrepant information

Question 14

Which strategy to enhance trustworthiness, rigour, and validation in qualitative studies entails spending an extended amount of time with participants "in the field"?

A) Peer debriefing
B) Prolonged engagement
C) Audit trail
D) Presenting negative or discrepant information

Question 15

What type of descriptions should researchers strive for both when the data are generated and when study findings are presented to contribute to the trustworthiness, rigour, and validation of a qualitative study?

A) Pragmatic, transformative descriptions
B) Relativistic, characterizing descriptions
C) Brief, easy descriptions
D) Rich, thick descriptions

Question 16

Janice Morse proposed the principle of methodological coherence as an indicator of quality research that does which of the following?

A) Requires alignment among researchers' philosophical assumptions, research questions, study design, data generation, data analysis, and interpretation.
B) Ensures measures or instruments used in research are as reliable and valid as possible, including measuring tools and processes being in good working order
C) Consists of a 32-item checklist
D) Specifies a formal system for classifying phenomena

Question 17

Who is credited with developing the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ)?

A) Tong, Sainsbury, and Craig (2007)
B) Guba (1981)
C) Morse (1999)
D) Sparkes and Smith (2009, 2014)

Question 18

Which of the following is not a criteria/category in the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ)?

A) Research team and reflexivity
B) Study design
C) Internal and external validity
D) Analysis and findings

Question 19

Which of the following statements correctly describes characterizing traits?

A) Characterizing traits are fluid and dynamic.
B) Characterizing traits are mediating and moderating.
C) Characterizing traits are rigid and structured.
D) Characterizing traits are statistically significant and reliable.

Question 20

When evaluating research studies, what is the base or foundation from which all evaluation should stem?

A) Validity
B) Ethics
C) Philosophical worldviews
D) Research designs

Question 21

Researchers conducting qualitative studies should seek to understand one distinct study finding that is reflective of one objective truth or single reality.

Question 22

In qualitative research studies, researchers should focus on forming understandings that may be relevant from one context to the next depending on similarity between the contexts.

Question 23

One approach to evaluating the merits of a qualitative study is to take a relativistic approach.

Question 24

What is considered a high-quality characterizing trait in one qualitative study will certainly be another high-quality characterizing trait in other qualitative studies.

Question 25

Whether a research study is quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods, a researcher's credentials should be the foundation from which all evaluation should stem.

Question 26

Member checking might consist of participants reviewing the data they generated and/or emergent study findings.

Question 27

Rich, thick descriptions are created only when study findings are presented.

Question 28

Researchers conducing qualitative research studies should only present results that align with their primary findings or main themes; any information that is counter to the main findings should be ignored.

Question 29

Data saturation pertains to when a researcher determines that s/he recruited enough participants and no new knowledge is being obtained.

Question 30

Researchers conducting qualitative studies should employ five strategies that contribute to the trustworthiness of the study to ensure high-quality research.

Question 31

Qualitative research is merely the reflection of a researcher's bias.

Question 32

Measurement validity and reliability is a domain of Tong et al.'s (2007) Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ).

Question 33

Discuss the concept of trustworthiness.

Question 34

Identify and provide an example of four common strategies to enhance trustworthiness, rigour, and validation in qualitative research studies.

Question 35

You are the editor of a qualitative research journal in kinesiology. You receive a manuscript (i.e., a written research report) for publication, written by three authors, that explores gendered relations and identities that evolved amongst circus performers. The following is their section on reflexivity:
We drew upon previous research on circus performers to develop key study questions. We have been involved in circus performing for several years. Indeed, this knowledge led us to frame the study in ways that paid attention to the impacts of gendered relations and identities on circus performers
What recommendations would you provide the authors to improve their section on reflexivity?

Question 36

Explain what an "armchair walkthrough" is and how it can help researchers plan a coherent study.

Question 37

Brainstorm as many characteristics or attributes that you would expect of an ethically-minded researcher.

Question 38

What are characterizing traits, and how are they used to evaluate qualitative research studies?

Question 39

You are at a research conference listening to a presentation from Dr. Quality about her research on parkour, which is a form of physical activity/training using all types of human movement (e.g., running, swinging, jumping, rolling) to manoeuvre oneself through a complex environment. The objective of Dr. Quality's qualitative research study was to obtain a novel understanding of parkour. Fifteen male parkour practitioners (aged 19-30 years) participated in her study, which included having their training sessions observed (training sessions were video recorded for repeat viewing) and engaging in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Themes that emerged from the data were: Making the Impossible Possible, Breaking the Cycle of Old Training Habits, and Perfecting Movement.
Using Tong et al.'s (2007) Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) as your guide, identify five questions you would ask Dr. Quality to evaluate her study. In parentheses, specify which domain/sub-domain each question stems from in the COREQ.

Question 40

Discuss the similarities and differences between the four aspects of trustworthiness that may be used as a starting place to evaluate qualitative research studies (i.e., truth value, applicability, consistency, and neutrality) with criteria used to evaluate quantitative research studies (i.e., internal validity, reliability, and objectivity).

Question 41

Critique the sampling strategy in the following qualitative research study, adapted from Crust, Swann, Allen-Collinson, Breckon, and Weinberg (2014):
Although sport has provided an ideal context for exploring mental toughness, currently, there is little research examining how this construct might be equally applicable in exercise settings. The present qualitative research study aimed to understand and conceptualise exercise mental toughness through in-depth interviews with exercise leaders and exercise participants. Seven exercise leaders and seven exercisers were randomly selected to participate in this study. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed independently by members of the research team. Key themes were agreed and member checking was used to promote trustworthiness of interpretations. Mental toughness was recognisable in exercise settings, with 10 general dimensions found to be reflective of conceptualisations derived from sport (e.g. commitment, focus). Importantly, present findings reveal how mentally tough exercisers think and behave in exercise settings.

Question 42

Describe the methods for a qualitative study in which a researcher is interested in understanding the meaning of physical education for a group of physical education teachers from a Saskatoon elementary school. (Note. As part of your methods section, be sure to include strategies that would allow you to evaluate the merits or accuracy of your qualitative findings).