Validity and reliability

The weaknesses of qualitative research are external reliability, internal reliability, external validity, and subjectivity (Flyvbjerg 2006; Bryman et al. 2011). It is difficult to replicate qualitative studies (external reliability) due to their unstructured nature, and the subjective decisions made by the researcher (Bryman et al. 2011). Internal reliability is difficult to ensure because I was the only observer, so there is no way to confirm inter-observer consistency (Yin 2011; Bryman et al. 2011). External validity refers to generalisability (Yin 2011; Bryman et al. 2011), and this will be difficult since there is one case study of Reforest Fest and this is not a multiple case study design. Another common criticism is a lack of transparency in the process followed by the researcher (Bryman et al. 2011).

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These weaknesses are rejected by some authors (Flyvbjerg 2006; Bryman et al. 2011), in favour of an alternative criterion called trustworthiness that has been proposed for evaluating qualitative research (Yin 2011; Bryman et al. 2011).

Trustworthiness comprises credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability (Bryman et al. 2011). I will discuss these in the following paragraphs.

Credibility concerns stem from the view that there could be multiple interpretations of an event (Bryman et al. 2011). The credibility of a researcher’s interpretation usually comes from respondent validation (Bryman et al. 2011). I adopted a slightly different approach, using five sources of data. First, I gained experience from two weekends as both an attendee and performer at Reforest Fest. Second, I listened to performers’ lyrics and noted relevant examples. Third, I journaled reflections and descriptions while at Reforest Fest, using discussions with attendees to verify my thoughts. Fourth, I used interviews as a source of data, clarifying any ambiguities in interviewee responses during the interviews to minimise misinterpretation. Fifth, discussions with fellow researchers (other MPhil students in Sustainable

Development) throughout the research process allowed me to keep a broader perspective on my findings.

Transferability concerns are related to the uniqueness of a case study, which is likely to reduce its applicability to other situations (Bryman et al. 2011). The recommended method of addressing this is by providing rich descriptions of the context to allow researchers to examine similarities to other contexts (Bryman et al. 2011). I have, as far as possible, provided descriptions of the Reforest Fest context in Chapter 4, which will allow others to make a judgement about transferability.

Dependability is a parallel to reliability, and relates to the merits of the research (Bryman et al. 2011). It can be ensured by maintaining complete records of research materials (Bryman et al. 2011). I have stored all interview transcripts, field notes, and data analysis files that can be audited by peers at a later stage if needed.

Confirmability relies on approaching objectivity as closely as possible (Bryman et al. 2011). I maintained awareness of my own personal perspectives and values. By maintaining this awareness, I did not knowingly allow my opinions to influence the interviews. To allow the reader to clearly distinguish between my voice and that of the interviewees, my own observations and thoughts have been separated from the interviewees’ statements in Chapter 4.

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In addition to the trustworthiness criteria, my research methods also addressed a more traditional validity concern. “To serve as a foundation for generalizations, case studies should be related to a theoretical framework, which in turn may be adjusted as case study results provide new evidence” (Mikkelsen 2005 in Blaxter, Hughes & Tight 2010:72). As mentioned in Section 3.3, my goal is not to generalise to a

population, and my research design (Yin 2011) and sampling method (Maxwell 2008; Miles, Hubeman & Saldana 2014) would not permit such a generalisation. My case study is related to the 3Rs theoretical framework, which assists with external validity in this way.

3.5 Summary

As stated by Blaxter, Hughes, and Tight (2010), the qualitative approach to this exploratory case study allowed me to aim for depth of insight using examples that I considered interesting. Yin (2011) lists five features of qualitative research, which serve as a good framework in which to summarise this chapter:

1. Studying meaning in real-world contexts: my research studies the role of music in fostering resilience in transformative spaces toward improving ecosystem stewardship. It investigates this in the context of Reforest Fest, which is a transformative space (as discussed in Chapter 4) with music at its core, aiming to improve ecosystem stewardship in its attendees. I was an active participant in both weekends of the festival and interviews occurred shortly after the festival to add alternative perspectives and more depth to my own thoughts.

2. Representing the views of others from their perspectives: the interviews I conducted focused on the opinions and journeys of the interviewees themselves. I made an effort to hold back my own opinions to enable an uninfluenced account of the interviewees’ perspectives.

3. Covering the relevant context: in Chapter 4, I will describe the context and history of Reforest Fest in order to establish the setting in which people formed their opinions and perspectives. I adopted minimal structure in my approach to allow for flexibility and the emergence of interesting insights while collecting data within that context. In Table 2, I described briefly some

contextual background that will assist in adding more understanding to people’s thoughts.

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4. Providing insights into concepts that may help to explain human behaviour: the interviewees provided insights into what they liked and disliked about Reforest Fest and its music. They also provided reasons for their behaviour at Reforest Fest. These insights, covering the role of music at Reforest Fest, could help to explain why people attended the festival or why they react the way they do to messages in the world of music.

5. Endeavor to use multiple data sources as opposed to a single source: I ensured that my data was obtained from multiple listeners and multiple songwriters/performers. I also obtained a perspective from one of the

organisers of Reforest Fest to verify the intent behind the festival, and to test how the attendees’ opinions, performers’ opinions, and my own observations were aligned with the intent of the festival.

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Chapter 4 - Results