BY: J INAH, KAISHI , SHIVANGI

Is it possible to generalize from Qualitative Studies?

What does generalizing entail?

Being able to generalize findings means that the results of a study are relevant outside the context of that particular study

Normally, scientists want their findings to apply to people than just those who partici-pated in that study

How relevant is generalization?

Some qualitative researchers do not find it relative

Others argue that it is important that results of a study can be generalized Lewis and Ritchie (2003) – distinguished between

three forms of generalization of qualitative data

Representational generalization Inferential generalization Theoretical generalizatoin

Representational Generalization

The findings from qualitative research stud-ies can be applied to populations outside the population of the study.

Qualitative research normally involves small samples that are not selected to be statisti-cally representative, and non-standardized methods may be used = difficult to generalize findings

However, if evidence from other studies con-firms the findings, generalization = possible (Hammersley, 1992)

Inferential Generalization

The findings of the study can be applied to settings outside the setting of the study (ex. design changes)

Also known as “transferability” or “external validity”

The “transferability” of the findings depends on the description of the researched context and phenomenon

Allows inferences but will rest as a hypothe-sis until supported or disproved by further research and analysis

To think what might happenUsually gives clues on what has or did hap-

pen

Theoretical Generalization

The notion that theoretical concepts derived from the study can be used to develop further theory

Ex: Findings from a study may lead to infer-ences about effective policies to help home-less people.

Thus, findings from a study may lead to wider social theory

Discussion Questions

Is generalisability important to qualitative re-search?

No Qualitative research represents a unique research

approach and does not need to be bound to the same conventions as quantitative research

Qualitative research usually aims to reflect diversity within a given population, rather than generalisability or representativness ( Kuzel, 1992)

Which types of generalisability apply?