How is RELIABILITY and VALIDITY employed in Ethnographic Research?
-LOW RELIABILITY – HIGH VALIDITY -Reliability Sole observers Analysis dependent of field notes Fully document research fully and allow other researchers to see their data upon request React subjectively to the people being studied Objectivity is threatened! Appropriate for capturing the complexity of the world in people’s own words -Validity Natural context Type of data – record actual BEHAVIORS Records unconscious behavior Permits long-term contact with subjects Continual data analysis Comparison to refine constructs and to ensure match between scientific categories and participant reality. Thick, rich detail. THREATS TO VALIDITY Emotional involvement Trust violation Limited in ability to witness all relevant aspects of phenomena being studied Researchers must select what they will collect How are threats to validity overcome in ethnographic research? -Triangulate findings by using various methods to collect data. -Combine methods to check validity -Employment of multiple observationa
