Enhancing the Quality of the Findings of a Longitudinal Case Study: Reviewing Trustworthiness via ATLAS.ti
Establishing trustworthiness, in regard to the concepts of validity and reliability is a crucial concern in ensuring the quality of a qualitative research. However, unlike a quantitative research, Firestone (1987) stated that qualitative study provides the reader with a depiction in enough detail to show that the author's conclusion "makes sense" (p. 19; as cited in Merriam, 1998) This is also echoed by Bailey (2007) "trustworthiness does not mean that the reader necessarily has to agree with the researcher; rather it requires the reader to see how the researcher arrived at the conclusion he or she made" (p. 181) Thus, Bailey (2007) further emphasized that the researcher interested in establishing trustworthiness should take care to provide a detailed methods section in their research write ups. This paper therefore aims to provide a review on the quality in establishing trustworthiness in the stipulated research project study on continuing professional development (CPD) for Malaysian Japanese language teachers using e portfolio. Specifically, the role of Computer Aided Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS) in facilitating the complexity of data analysis process and establishing trustworthiness in the qualitative research study is examined in this paper. The Research Study and Issue of Trustworthiness The research study is an initiative of utilizing e portfolio development as a mechanism of self directed professional development among non native speaking teachers of Japanese language. The two tiered development of e portfolios (individual and group based) would signify the potential use of e portfolio in the formation of a community of practice and the promotion of collaboration and networking among the teachers. Due to its descriptive and interpretive nature, this study employs a qualitative case study methodology. It adopts a longitudinal design which involves collection of data over time and at four specific points in time throughout the study period. Data collection comprises three email interviews at the first three phases of the study, a face to face interview at the middle point of the study and an online questionnaire at the end of the study period. For the purpose of collecting the data, this study entails a collective case study. On the other hand, case study often implies the collection of unstructured data and qualitative analysis of those data. Hence, it often raises a fundamental issue about the aspect of trustworthiness. For instance, it is argued that the aim of case study research should be to "capture cases in their uniqueness, rather than to use them as a basis for wider generalization or theoretical inference of some kind" (Hammersley Gomm, 2000, p. 3) Additionally, Patton (1990) voiced his criticism about qualitative research for being too subjective in his statement as follows: " has such negative connotations in the public mind that to openly advocate the value of subjective insight in evaluation research is to risk undermining the credibility of one's work" (p. 55) Furthermore, Sandelowski (1997, cited in Johnson Waterfield, 2004) claimed that there was still a sense of distrust of qualitative research due to its perceived inability to produce useful and valid findings beyond a supplementary role to quantitative research. Keeping these points in mind, the researchers took the initiative to ensure the achievement of rigour in the study so that the qualitative case study method employed in this study is more than just subjective views of events. In a nutshell, this paper therefore sets out to consider how rigour or thoroughness in qualitative research study can be better addressed using CAQDAS, namely ATLAS.ti in this study. The researchers agree with Lincoln and Guba's (1985) perspective that addressing rigour in qualitative research amounts to being able to assess the trustworthiness of the processes and procedures of the research and hence adopt their trustworthiness framework in this study.