Research (Part 2)
THIS WEEK, we will continue looking at research. We will look more closely at determining the reliability and validity of a source. This week’s lesson is borrowed from http://capecommstudies.blogspot.com/
For a data source to be accurate and credible, high levels of reliability and validity is the aim. Both elements are equal in importance in judging the accuracy and credibility of a source.
RELIABILITY – CAN THE SOURCE PROVIDE THE DATA?
For a source to be reliable, we must evaluate the ability of the source to provide the information. We are looking at the question, “Is it likely that this source can provide this data?” The major concern is, therefore, authority. To evaluate authority, we can look at several aspects of the data source:
1. Author – Is the author an expert in the field? What qualifications does he/she have? For example, an article on a website about HIV written by a medical doctor might have more authority than one written by someone without qualification. 2. Professional standards – Does the author have certain professional standards? The example of a doctor immediately comes to mind. Similarly, academic writers who are published in academic journals or books have to conform to standards and have their work checked by other academics. Journalists mostly operate within a professional approach, especially large international newspapers such as the New York Times or The Guardian (UK). Authority can mean expertise.
3. Publisher – Is the publisher reputable? Academic publishers need to maintain their reputation for accurate factual information so they also have editors to ensure a high standard. Other publishers such as newspapers, magazines, etc., need to avoid legal action for libel (telling lies about someone) so also should be careful to print the truth. 4. Organisation or institution – If the data is from an organisation, for example, the United Nations, we need to evaluate
their reputation and their role or responsibilities. For example, statistics on the economy from the East Caribbean Central Bank would come from a highly reliable source as the bank uses the statistics to conduct the very important business of issuing bank notes and controlling the money supply in the region.
5. Research method – Could the research method chosen generate the data necessary? For example, in researching teen pregnancy, would carrying out an interview of an expert generate the data needed or would questionnaires of teens be a better choice?
VALIDITY – IS THE DATA TRUE?
A source could have high levels of reliability, for example, academic research published in an academic journal by the leading expert in the field. However, the data may have a low level of validity in that it might be very out of date. Equally, it may be possible that a source might not be considered highly reliable. For example, an Internet site which does not have the name of the author, organisation, who maintains the site, etc. However, the data is still true or valid. In evaluating validity we need to look at accuracy and bias.
To evaluate accuracy, we need to look at several aspects of the data:
1. Currency – When was the data published or gathered? Could the information be out of date? For example, statistics on rates of HIV+ infection will need to be up to date to be accurate.
2. Relevance – Does the information relate to the circumstances you are applying it to? For example, will research carried out in the United States apply to the Caribbean?
3. Data collection – Was the data collected by reliable methods? Was it accurately recorded?
4. Sample size – Was the sample size large enough for generalisation to be accurate? For example, if a newspaper article has only interviewed one person in a large crowd, can we assume that all the points of view are represented? Similarly, with social research, the sample size is vital to judging whether the data is representative of the population as a whole.
5. Replicable – Do other sources have similar information? Would another similar piece of research have the same result? This is particularly relevant to sources such as the Internet, which lack references.
Next week, we will look at Data Collection Methods and some Past Paper questions on research. Trudi Morrison Reid teaches at The Queen’s School. Send questions and comments to kerry-ann.hepburn@gleanerjm.com