Enacting Internal Coherence as a Path to Quality in Qualitative Inquiry

Abstract

In this chapter, I am going to make an argument about how to judge quality and do quality in qualitative research, I’m a little trepidatious taking this on: it’s an old subject and many great authors have written on it elegantly (just a few examples: Angen, 2000; Barbour, 2001; Flick, 2007; Mason, 2002; Seale, 1999). People come to blows over the quality of qualitative research, perhaps because it goes to the question of whether it’s worth doing research at all. Questions about quality are a big deal.