Developing Frameworks for the Empirical Reappraisal of Qualitative Social Science Research

• In Event: 20458 - Qualitative Methodology

Abstract

As the push toward open science (OS) continues to grow, social scientists have voiced numerous concerns about whether OS principles and practices can be applied to certain types of data and methods of data analysis, especially for qualitative research which is more likely to employ interpretive and intersubjective epistemologies. Reappraisal – defined as the process through which a study’s empirical claims are assessed for their validity and reliability – is critically important for OS and the accumulation of valid, reliable scientific knowledge. Some qualitative social scientists assert that empirical reappraisal is not feasible due to various logistical barriers, and others assert it is not useful because it relies on a logic that is incompatible with the types of data, methods of analysis, or epistemologies used in qualitative research. We recruited five research teams to participate in a collaborative study to assess the feasibility and utility of empirical reappraisal for qualitative social science research. Each participating team submitted a manuscript to be reanalyzed and reanalyzed the empirical findings of another team’s manuscript. We convened a workshop with the participating researchers to discuss the process, including their conclusions about the soundness of the manuscript’s empirical findings, their perspective on the utility of reappraisal, and their reflections on ways to address various concerns that qualitative researchers have raised about reappraisal. Based on this collaboration, we develop frameworks for the empirical reappraisal that respect the epistemological traditions, cohere with the evaluative criteria used to assess methodological rigor, and address concerns that qualitative methodologists have raised.

Author

• Derek James Robey, Syracuse University