| Peer-Reviewed

A Reflexive Method for Validating the Results of Qualitative Analysis

Received: 7 June 2018     Accepted: 5 September 2018     Published: 15 October 2018
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

One of the central arguments of Pierre Bourdieu is that social science researchers should reflect not only on the research object but also on the subject. How to achieve this? This question also relates to the calls for the operationalisation of reflexivity. This study addresses this research question. The aim of this study is to present a method for operationalising reflexivity. The study is an empirical study of an agricultural marketing board in India. The board controls over two hundred market yards of the state. These yards are specialized wholesale commodity markets where the agricultural commodities are traded. The major stakeholders in the trade are farmers, government officers, traders, and private vendors. The board implemented an agricultural marketing information system project that intended to interconnect the yards by modern day information technology. The data for the study are collected in form of semi-structured interviews with these stakeholder groups. The study uses a qualitative methodology based on the constant comparison method. Using this method a set of constructs is identified. These constructs are scrutinised through the lenses of reflexivity. Finally, a framework is presented that can guide the operationalisation of reflexivity. The five step framework compares the empirical data from the field with the data about the researcher. The framework helps in establishing the validity of research results as the same research methods are applied to both the research phenomenon as well as the researcher. The paper contributes to the discussion on the operationalisation of reflexivity.

Published in Social Sciences (Volume 7, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ss.20180705.14
Page(s) 223-232
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Reflexivity, Bourdieu, Trust, ICT, Validity

References
[1] Myers, M. D. and H. K. Klein, A set of principles for conducting critical research in information systems. MIS Q., 2011. 35(1): p. 17-36.
[2] Orlikowski, W. J. and J. Baroudi, Studying information technology in organizations: research approaches and assumptions. Information Systems Research, 1991. 2(1): p. 1-28.
[3] Stahl, B. C., The ethical nature of critical research in information systems. Information Systems Journal, 2008. 18(2): p. 137-163.
[4] Pather, S. and D. Remenyi, Some of the philosophical issues underpinning research in information systems: from positivism to critical realism, in Proceedings of the 2004 annual research conference of the South African institute of computer scientists and information technologists on IT research in developing countries. 2004, South African Institute for Computer Scientists and Information Technologists: Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa. p. 141-146.
[5] Falconer, D., A demographic and content survey of critical research in information systems for the period 2001–2005. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 2008. 22(1): p. 30.
[6] McGrath, K., Doing critical research in information systems: A case of theory and practice not informing each other. Information Systems Journal, 2005. 15(2): p. 85-101.
[7] Jenkins, R., Pierre Bourdieu., ed. P. Hamilton. 1992, London: Routledge.
[8] Avgerou, C., Doing critical research in information systems: Some further thoughts. Information Systems Journal, 2005. 15(2): p. 103-109.
[9] Plumridge, L. and R. Thomson, Longitudinal qualitative studies and the reflexive self. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 2003. 6(3): p. 213-222.
[10] Kaufman, P., Scribo Ergo Cogito: Reflexivity through Writing. Teaching Sociology, 2013. 41(1): p. 70-81.
[11] Humphreys, M., Getting personal: Reflexivity and autoethnographic vignettes. Qualitative Inquiry, 2005. 11(6): p. 840-860.
[12] Mauthner, N. S. and A. Doucet, Reflexive accounts and accounts of reflexivity in qualitative data analysis. Sociology, 2003. 37(3): p. 413-431.
[13] Finlay, L., “Outing” the researcher: The provenance, process, and practice of reflexivity. Qualitative Health Research, 2002. 12(4): p. 531-545.
[14] Morrow, V., Young people's explanations and experiences of social exclusion: retrieving Bourdieu's concept of social capital. International journal of sociology and social policy, 2001. 21(4/5/6): p. 37-63.
[15] Klein, H. K. and M. D. Myers, A Set of Principles for Conducting and Evaluating Interpretive Field Studies in Information Systems. MIS Quarterly, 1999. 23(1): p. 67-93.
[16] Pillow, W., Confession, catharsis, or cure? Rethinking the uses of reflexivity as methodological power in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 2003. 16(2): p. 175-196.
[17] Howcroft, D. and E. M. Trauth, The choice of critical information systems research, in Information Systems Research. 2004, Springer. p. 195-211.
[18] Finlay, L., Negotiating the swamp: the opportunity and challenge of reflexivity in research practice. Qualitative research, 2002. 2(2): p. 209-230.
[19] Macbeth, D., On “reflexivity” in qualitative research: Two readings, and a third. Qualitative Inquiry, 2001. 7(1): p. 35-68.
[20] McCabe, J. L. and D. Holmes, Reflexivity, critical qualitative research and emancipation: a Foucauldian perspective. Journal of advanced nursing, 2009. 65(7): p. 1518-1526.
[21] Lincoln Yvonna, S. and G. Guba Egon, Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, 1985.
[22] Seale, C., Quality in qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 1999. 5(4): p. 465-478.
[23] Cho, J. and A. Trent, Validity in qualitative research revisited. Qualitative Research, 2006. 6(3): p. 319-340.
[24] Cohn, E. S. and K. D. Lyons, The perils of power in interpretive research. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2003. 57(1): p. 40-48.
[25] Whittemore, R., S. K. Chase, and C. L. Mandle, Validity in qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research, 2001. 11(4): p. 522-537.
[26] Swartz, D., Culture and Power: The sociology of Pierre Bourdieu. 1997, London: The University of Chicago Press, Ltd.
[27] Bourdieu, P., Distinction. Translated by Richard Nice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univer, 1984.
[28] Abbott, J. C., Agricultural Marketing Boards in the Developing Countries. Journal of Farm Economics, 1967. 49(3): p. 705.
[29] Pokhrel, D. M. and G. B. Thapa, Are marketing intermediaries exploiting mountain farmers in Nepal? A study based on market price, marketing margin and income distribution analyses. Agricultural Systems, 2007. 94(2): p. 151-164.
[30] Shilpi, F. and D. Umali-Deininger, Market facilities and agricultural marketing: evidence from Tamil Nadu, India. Agricultural Economics, 2008. 39(3): p. 281-294.
[31] Banker, R., S. Mitra, and V. Sambamurthy, THE EFFECTS OF DIGITAL TRADING PLATFORMS ON COMMODITY PRICES IN AGRICULTURAL SUPPLY CHAINS. MIS Quarterly, 2011. 35(3): p. 599-A3.
[32] Banerji, A. and J. V. Meenakshi Millers, Commission Agents and Collusion in Grain Auction Markets: Evidence From Basmati Auctions in North India. Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics Working Paper Series 2004. 129.
[33] Meenakshi, J. V. and A. Banerji, The unsupportable support price: an analysis of collusion and government intervention in paddy auction markets in North India. Journal of Development Economics, 2005. 76(2): p. 377-403.
[34] Vaidya, R., Trust formation in information systems implementation in developing countries: The role of emancipatory expectations. Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, 2016. 14(2): p. null.
[35] Bailur, S., Using Stakeholder Theory to Analyze Telecenter Projects. Information Technologies & International Development, 2007. 3(3): p. 61-80.
[36] Molony, T., Running out of credit: the limitations of mobile telephony in a Tanzanian agricultural marketing system. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 2008. 46(04): p. 637-658.
[37] Best, M. and R. Kumar, Sustainability Failures of Rural Telecenters: Challenges from the Sustainable Access in Rural India (SARI) Project. Information Technologies and International Development, 2008. 4(4): p. 31–45.
[38] Cecchini, S. and M. Raina, Electronic Government and the Rural Poor: The Case of Gyandoot. Information Technologies and International Development, 2004. 2 (2): p. 65–75.
[39] Boeije, H., A Purposeful Approach to the Constant Comparative Method in the Analysis of Qualitative Interviews. Quality & Quantity, 2002. 36(4): p. 391-409.
[40] Walsham, G., Learning about being critical. Information Systems Journal, 2005. 15(2): p. 111-117.
[41] Bourdieu, P. and R. Nice, The bachelors' ball. 2008: University of Chicago Press.
[42] Bourdieu, P., Sketch for a Self-Analysis, trans. Richard Nice. Cambridge: Polity, 2007.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Ranjan Vaidya. (2018). A Reflexive Method for Validating the Results of Qualitative Analysis. Social Sciences, 7(5), 223-232. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20180705.14

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Ranjan Vaidya. A Reflexive Method for Validating the Results of Qualitative Analysis. Soc. Sci. 2018, 7(5), 223-232. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20180705.14

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Ranjan Vaidya. A Reflexive Method for Validating the Results of Qualitative Analysis. Soc Sci. 2018;7(5):223-232. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20180705.14

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ss.20180705.14,
      author = {Ranjan Vaidya},
      title = {A Reflexive Method for Validating the Results of Qualitative Analysis},
      journal = {Social Sciences},
      volume = {7},
      number = {5},
      pages = {223-232},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20180705.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20180705.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20180705.14},
      abstract = {One of the central arguments of Pierre Bourdieu is that social science researchers should reflect not only on the research object but also on the subject. How to achieve this? This question also relates to the calls for the operationalisation of reflexivity. This study addresses this research question. The aim of this study is to present a method for operationalising reflexivity. The study is an empirical study of an agricultural marketing board in India. The board controls over two hundred market yards of the state. These yards are specialized wholesale commodity markets where the agricultural commodities are traded. The major stakeholders in the trade are farmers, government officers, traders, and private vendors. The board implemented an agricultural marketing information system project that intended to interconnect the yards by modern day information technology. The data for the study are collected in form of semi-structured interviews with these stakeholder groups. The study uses a qualitative methodology based on the constant comparison method. Using this method a set of constructs is identified. These constructs are scrutinised through the lenses of reflexivity. Finally, a framework is presented that can guide the operationalisation of reflexivity. The five step framework compares the empirical data from the field with the data about the researcher. The framework helps in establishing the validity of research results as the same research methods are applied to both the research phenomenon as well as the researcher. The paper contributes to the discussion on the operationalisation of reflexivity.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - A Reflexive Method for Validating the Results of Qualitative Analysis
    AU  - Ranjan Vaidya
    Y1  - 2018/10/15
    PY  - 2018
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20180705.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20180705.14
    T2  - Social Sciences
    JF  - Social Sciences
    JO  - Social Sciences
    SP  - 223
    EP  - 232
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2326-988X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20180705.14
    AB  - One of the central arguments of Pierre Bourdieu is that social science researchers should reflect not only on the research object but also on the subject. How to achieve this? This question also relates to the calls for the operationalisation of reflexivity. This study addresses this research question. The aim of this study is to present a method for operationalising reflexivity. The study is an empirical study of an agricultural marketing board in India. The board controls over two hundred market yards of the state. These yards are specialized wholesale commodity markets where the agricultural commodities are traded. The major stakeholders in the trade are farmers, government officers, traders, and private vendors. The board implemented an agricultural marketing information system project that intended to interconnect the yards by modern day information technology. The data for the study are collected in form of semi-structured interviews with these stakeholder groups. The study uses a qualitative methodology based on the constant comparison method. Using this method a set of constructs is identified. These constructs are scrutinised through the lenses of reflexivity. Finally, a framework is presented that can guide the operationalisation of reflexivity. The five step framework compares the empirical data from the field with the data about the researcher. The framework helps in establishing the validity of research results as the same research methods are applied to both the research phenomenon as well as the researcher. The paper contributes to the discussion on the operationalisation of reflexivity.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 5
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Digital Strategy & Architecture, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

  • Sections