Generalising from qualitative research

At the 2007 AVETRA conference, Falk and Guenther presented a case to support the idea of generalisation from qualitative research. They conclude that

Much of the writing surveyed in this literature review is in agreement that quakitative studies may form a basis for understanding situations other than those under investigation. The strength of this basis depends again on rigour - that of a study's design and methods for gathering and analysing information-rich data (Yin 2003a, b); its attention to validity, reliability, and triangulation (Patton 2002); and a well-developed theory emerging from the findings (Johnson and Christensen 2004) (Falk and Guenther, 2007, p.5)

That generalisability is possible:

1. from qualitative and mixed research methods, possible partly because of the replicability of the finding across several populations.
2. on the basis of theory building through the inductive approach.
3. because of the receiving audiences perceptions
4. through a combination of any or all of the above.

Go to http://www.avetra.org.au/publications/10-Guenther.pdf