Data Verification

Data verification aims at establishing the trustworthiness of data collected as well as the research findings. According to White, Oelke and Friesen (2012:246), trustworthiness is vital to the success of qualitative studies. On the other hand, Fawcett and Pockett (2015:33) define trust as the confident belief in and reliance upon the moral character and competence of another person. The aim of trustworthiness in a qualitative inquiry is to support the argument that the inquiry’s findings are worth paying attention to (Elo, Kaariainen, Kantse, Polkki, Utriainen & Kyngas 2014:2). The authors further state that trustworthiness is often presented by using the terms credibility, dependability, conformability, transferability, and authenticity. These views resonate with Marshall and Rossman’s (2016:46) statement that the terms credibility, dependability, conformability, transferability, and authenticity offer a set of procedures to ensure that the researcher has met the standards of trustworthiness. In order to achieve the objective of trustworthiness, the researcher must adhere to methods accepted as scientifically sound in the qualitative study.

The researcher presented a comprehensive plan on how data was envisaged to be verified in order to check the trustworthiness of research findings using Guba’s model as outlined in Chapter One, section 1.5.2. Guba’s model is regarded as classical work in the verification of collected data. In this section, the researcher presented how the requirements to ensure trustworthiness were met. According to Guba’s model (in Krefting 1991:215-222), there are four characteristics that ensure trustworthiness, namely truth-value, applicability, consistency, and neutrality.

3.8.2.1 Truth-value

Truth-value seeks to check if the findings of the study are a true reflection of the experiences of the research participants (Krefting 1991:215). This implies that truth-value seeks to check the credibility of the findings. Credibility is the capacity to be believed or believed in (Lock & Seele 2017:2). In the same way, Tracy (2013:248) defines credibility as the trustworthiness, plausibility, and good character of a researcher and his study, which affects the believability of the research findings. The

researcher used the following credibility strategy in order to achieve the truth-value of the findings:

- Interview technique

Participants were prepared prior to the collection of data to ensure that they felt comfortable while sharing their life experiences. Moreover, a rapport and trust were established during the initial visit to the participants, which was intended for the preparation for data collection. The researcher also discussed the ethical considerations with participants during the process of preparation for data collection. In order to allow for the flow of the interview and an in-depth exploration of issues under discussion, the researcher used the skills that are comprehensively discussed in sub-section 3.5.6.2, namely listening, probing, questioning, and empathy.

- Triangulation

Triangulation refers to a situation where the researcher produces similar results to strengthen the credibility of the study, using multiple methods (Tracy 2013:250). In the same way, Chambliss and Schutt (2013:250) postulate that triangulation refers to the use of multiple methods to study one research question. The principle of triangulation pertains to the goal of seeking at least three ways of verifying or corroborating a particular event, description, or fact being reported by the study (Yin 2011:81). Through triangulation, the researcher compares multiple methods to ensure the credibility of the research findings. It is also about building evidence from different sources to establish themes in the study (Creswell 2016:191).

Triangulation was achieved in this study, as the researcher collected data from multiple data sources, namely social workers and divorced persons. The social workers are employed in different settings, namely in NGOs, government departments, the private sector, and private practice. The divorced persons are men and women who belong to different ethnic groups and have diverse experiences relating to divorce. The researcher used semi-structured interviews and participant observations to collect data from participants. The researcher used a voice recorder to capture the verbal responses of participants, while

non-verbal communications were observed and captured in a notebook. Data was analysed by an independent coder and the researcher, under the guidance of the promoter.

- Peer examination

Peer examination involves discussing the research process and findings with researchers who are experts in qualitative research (Krefting 1991:219). It is the review of a project by someone who is familiar with the research being explored (Creswell 2016:194). The researcher worked closely with the promoter, who is knowledgeable about qualitative research. The transcripts of interviews were made available to the promoter in order for her to critique and assess the interpretation of the direct quotes. The researcher also used an independent coder to assist with the interpretation of the research findings.

- Authority of the researcher

The researcher is a lecturer in the Department of Social Work at UNISA and one of his key performance areas, apart from tuition and community engagement, is research. Moreover, the researcher supervises and provides support to students registered for their Master’s degree in Social Work and therefore he is familiar with the research process. In the course of his duties, the researcher has attended numerous workshops and training sessions on qualitative research. In addition, the researcher was employed as a generic social worker at the DSD in the Limpopo Province for seven years where he worked, amongst others, with clients experiencing difficulties and unable to cope with the aftermath of divorce.

All of this served to his advantage.

- Member checking

Member checking is when the researcher takes the participants’ themes or entire stories back to them and asks them whether their themes or stories are an accurate representation of what they said (Creswell 2016:192). For this study, the researcher did member checking during the transcription and translation of data, as he identified some gaps in the transcribed interviews. The researcher revisited the relevant participants and, in some instances, contacted them telephonically to ensure the credibility and accuracy of the data.

3.8.2.2 Applicability

Applicability refers to the likelihood that an intervention could be replicated in a new setting (Burchett, Dobrow, Lavis & Mayhew 2013:16). Applicability may also be referred to as the degree to which the findings can be applied to other contexts and settings or to other groups. There are two perspectives of applicability identified by Guba (in Krefting 1991:216) that are appropriate for qualitative research. The first perspective suggests that the ability to generalise is not relevant in many qualitative research projects; each situation is defined as unique and thus is less amenable to generalisation. Generalisation refers to the fact that research can be generalised by its readers and made to apply to their own research projects, scenes, or even personal lives (Tracy 2013:249). The second perspective of applicability in qualitative research is referred to as fittingness or transferability, which is one of the criterion met by the research when the findings fit into contexts outside the study situation that are determined by the degree of similarity or goodness of fit between the two contexts.

According to Burchett et al (2013:16), transferability refers to the potential for a study’s effectiveness to be repeated in a new setting. Similarly, Tracy (2013:250) reiterates that transferability is a means of determining resonance in a qualitative study and it permits readers to make connections between the findings presented in one study and those of other works.

In order to ensure applicability, the researcher utilised the strategy of generalisability and transferability, which is when the research findings are able to fit into contexts other than that of the study situation, but which have some similarities. In so doing, the researcher used the purposive and snowball sampling methods to ensure applicability and these methods clearly stipulate how participants were included. Exploratory, descriptive, and contextual designs were used in order provide an extensive description of the nature of social work services to divorced persons and the needs of the divorced persons regarding social work services. In order to check the generalisability and transferability of the findings, the researcher provided a comprehensive description of the research methodology applied.

3.8.2.3 Consistency

Consistency of data refers to whether the findings would be consistent if the enquiry were replicated with the same subjects or in a similar context (Krefting 1991:216).

Thus, consistency refers to the extent to which repeated administration of a measure provides the same data, or the extent to which a measure administered once, but by different people, produces equivalent results. The strategy of dependability must be applied in order to establish consistency. Dependability means that the inquiry processes are explicit and include the chronology of research activities and processes (Jones, Torres & Arminio 2014:37). The idea of dependability emphasises the need for the researcher to account for the ever-changing context within which research occurs (Trochim & Donnelly 2008:149). Thus, dependability relates to the consistency of the research study over a period of time and across researchers.

In order to ensure the consistency of the findings, the researcher presented the exact methodology, which describes how the study was conducted. The researcher and the independent coder agreed on the themes and sub-themes during the consensus meeting facilitated by the supervisor/promoter to check consistency.

3.8.2.4 Neutrality

Neutrality refers to the degree to which the findings are a function solely of the informants and conditions of the research and not of other biases, motivations, and perspectives (Krefting 1991:216). Neutrality is established through the strategy of confirmability. Confirmability refers to the degree to which others can confirm or collaborate the results (Trochim & Donnelly 2008:149). It further refers to the degree to which findings of study are genuine reflections of the participants investigated (Hays

& Singh 2012:201). Without the strategy of confirmability, it would be difficult to achieve neutrality. In qualitative research, objectivity is the criterion of neutrality and is achieved through rigor of methodology through which reliability and validity are established.

In order to meet this criterion, the researcher focused on the neutrality of data rather than the neutrality of the researcher. Literature control was used to compare and confirm data collected for the study. The researcher also used credibility to establish the truth-value of the study and achieve neutrality through interview technique,