What does trustworthiness in qualitative research encompass?

Trustworthiness in qualitative research is a critical concept that ensures the research findings are credible and reliable. It consists of several key components: credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability.

Credibility refers to the confidence in the truth of the findings, emphasizing the importance of participant perspectives and the researcher's efforts to ensure accurate representation of those views. Transferability relates to the extent that the findings can be applied or relevant to other contexts or settings, allowing for the potential to generalize insights from one study to another. Dependability addresses the stability of the data over time and in different conditions, which is crucial for establishing consistency in qualitative findings. Lastly, confirmability refers to the degree to which the results can be corroborated by others; it reflects the objectivity of the researcher's findings and their alignment with the data.

In contrast, the other options do not accurately capture the elements that constitute trustworthiness in qualitative research. For instance, options that mention reliability and validity are more aligned with quantitative research standards, where repeatability and statistical measures are emphasized. Therefore, acknowledging credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability is paramount for maintaining trustworthiness in qualitative methodologies.