How can one resolve the issue of reliability and validity in the context of sociological research on inequality?. (UPSC CSE Mains 2017 - Sociology, Paper 1)
Reliability
- Reliability is all about ‘Can the same result be produced again?’
- Reliability in research can be improved by inculcating objectivity in methods.
- Standardisation of procedures and methods also increases reliability.
- Statistical techniques and sampling are more reliable than methods like participant observation.
- Subjectivity will lead to lower reliability of sociological investigations.
Validity
- Validity concerns itself with the degree of achieving the intended result.
- Result is valid if it achieves what it was supposed to achieve.
- True validity comes when both the instruments used and the results of experiments themselves are found to be accurate each time an experiment is conducted.
- In order for an experiment to be considered valid, it must first be considered internally and externally valid. This means that an experiment’s measuring tools must be able to be used repeatedly to generate the same results.
- While positivists may argue that validity is possible in Sociology by the use of scientific methods, Interpretivists disagree.
The issues of validity and reliability are problematic ones in qualitative research precisely because qualitative methods demand a lot of personal engagement from the researcher. The risk of the researcher "going native", i.e. identifying herself1 himself so completely with the people under study that she then becomes a spokesperson for their issues and interests is also significant. The researcher must at one and the same time be both a participant and an observer, doing research and yet interacting with subjects in their own territory, on their own terms. Several techniques have been identified by which the researcher keeps a scrupulous and detailed record of the work done, separating the views of the actors from one''s own. This includes the technique of triangulation. Interwoven with these methodological considerations is the moral imperative that the need to recognise and respect the fact that the "subjects" of research are human beings who must be treated with respect and accorded the dignity that every human being deserves.
Lincoln and Guba: to overcome limitations of Reliability and Validity, alternative terms like trustworthiness, credibility, transferability, and conformability can be used to suit the nature of research. Sociologists should focus on the relevance of a research by looking beyond the reliability and validity debate. (Hammersly).
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