The validity of the research findings very much depends on the accuracy of the collected data which in this study in turn relies on how truthful the interviewees’ responses and answers were. In an authoritarian regime like China, people often worried about the consequences of expressing negative views towards the state. While interpreting the data findings, I paid attention to the possibility that the quality of the data was affected by the sensitivity of the topics. When I discussed the adequacy of the local service provisions for older people with the NGO staff, even though rapport was established with them, they might avoid being very critical of the policy since the survival of their agency depended on state funding. Also, because of their position, the officials or the local Residents Committee officers might be hesitant to express their personal views when discussing the policy.
To establish the validity of the findings, Robson (2002) suggested that the concept of triangulation can be used to check the quality of the qualitative data. Patton (2002) also noted that since each research method reveals different aspects of the empirical reality, employing multiple methods can add perspectives to the research. In this research, empirical findings were checked against other sources of information such as the various five-year development plans for supportive services for older people to see if there was any contradiction between the policy content and the data findings. The commitment of the state
110 to improve the services as written in policy documents could be checked to see if the policies were actually implemented, as reflected in the data provided by the interviewees. If this triangulation of the data sources did not bring consistent findings, it was an opportunity for me to think critically of the reasons behind the policy failure during implementation at the local level.
Reliability
Since I was responsible for the whole research process, bias could easily seep in since it relied on my knowledge to frame the research. As noted by Bryman (2012), the values of the person taking charge of the research exert a great influence which permeates the whole process from the formulation of the research questions, choice of a research site, to the possibility of taking sides with the research targets and to the presentation of research findings. My belief system, to a certain extent, has been shaped by the Chinese culture as well as my life experiences in a Chinese society. For example, believing that older people’s cultural preference to live with their children might limit my exploration of the reasons for the co-residence living arrangement since I might assume that there was no need to investigate further. During the data collection process, I made conscious efforts not to have any preconceptions or assumptions about old-age care in the Chinese context.
As suggested by Sarantakos (2005), to minimise the personal prejudice and bias of the researcher, the objectivity of the research can be enhanced by providing the readers with detailed information on research design, sampling strategy and data collection. To increase the reliability of this research, I tried to enhance the transparency of the whole process by documenting in great detail the choice of research sites, sampling strategy, access to the interviewees, data collection and data analysis. This could provide readers with thorough information to evaluate the credibility of this research. Moreover, I tried to obtain the audio- taping of all interviews. In order not to miss out any data, I made the full transcripts of all interviews and exercised great caution in transcribing the data and translating them from Chinese to English to ensure the accuracy. With all these steps in place, the external party could evaluate whether or not the research approach was adopted appropriately and the steps in the research process were implemented logically.
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Generalisability
The concern of generalisability of the findings is the extent that they can be generalised or transferred to other settings. Despite the fact that the choice of the samples was limited by the accessibility to certain locations, the formulation of the sampling strategies enabled me to elicit a range of views relevant to the research questions. The findings are unique since they are empirically grounded on older people’s perspectives. Also, the interviews with different categories of stakeholders can provide a wide range of views from different dimensions on old-age support in urban China.
The findings in Beijing and Guangzhou are specific to these two geographical contexts and cannot be treated as representative of other cities since China is a huge country where wide regional variations exist in the level of economic development. Despite this, these research findings can produce explanations which can be generalised to illustrate how the demographic and socio-economic processes undermined the care support for older people and how the rights and responsibilities in old-age care were newly perceived in the transitional economy. As the development of these two cities is well ahead of a majority of cities or regions in China and the rate of urbanisation is growing, predicted to reach 70% in 2030, as noted in Chapter 1, the emerging trends or problems in the care of older people encountered there will also likely to be faced by other parts of China in the near future.
Summary
This chapter gives an account of the whole research process. It includes the rationale for the choice of research approach, research sites and samples. The strategies employed to overcome the challenges encountered in establishing the research contacts, accessibility to interviewees and the data collection process were documented. Before the data collection phase, the ethical issues were given thorough consideration so as to protect the interest of the research subjects. Lastly, how to maintain validity and reliability of this research as well as the generalisability of the research findings were discussed too.
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