Qualitative Validity Framework

There has been considerable debate among methodologists about the value and legitimacy of this alternative set of standards for judging qualitative research. Perhaps there is some legitimacy to this counter argument. No one has yet done a thorough job of translating how the same criteria might apply in qualitative research contexts. For instance, the discussions of external validity have been dominated by the idea of statistical sampling as the basis for generalizing. Considerations of reliability have traditionally been inextricably linked to the notion of true score theory. For instance, Guba and Lincoln proposed four criteria for judging the soundness of qualitative research and explicitly offered these as an alternative to more traditional quantitatively-oriented criteria. (William M.K. Trochim 2006).