Title
Defining Member Checking and Exploring Its Various Forms
Location
1048
Format Type
Event
Format Type
Paper
Start Date
January 2018
End Date
January 2018
Abstract
When a discussion of rigor in qualitative research occurs, member checking is bound to make an appearance in the discussion, especially for discussions of interview or focus group based collection methods. In fact, some have even called it the gold standard (McConnell-Henry, Chapman, & Francis, 2011). While the term member checking appears frequently in the literature and is used by many researchers, I argue that the term lacks a unified meaning. More importantly, I argue that there is a lack in understanding of how to conduct the process of member checking in a rigorous and high quality manner. This session will discuss how member checking is situated in the discussion of rigor of qualitative research. It will then explore the various ways in which member checking has been defined in the literature and describe the various forms that member checks can take and describe the procedures to perform them.
Defining Member Checking and Exploring Its Various Forms
1048
When a discussion of rigor in qualitative research occurs, member checking is bound to make an appearance in the discussion, especially for discussions of interview or focus group based collection methods. In fact, some have even called it the gold standard (McConnell-Henry, Chapman, & Francis, 2011). While the term member checking appears frequently in the literature and is used by many researchers, I argue that the term lacks a unified meaning. More importantly, I argue that there is a lack in understanding of how to conduct the process of member checking in a rigorous and high quality manner. This session will discuss how member checking is situated in the discussion of rigor of qualitative research. It will then explore the various ways in which member checking has been defined in the literature and describe the various forms that member checks can take and describe the procedures to perform them.
Comments
Breakout Session D