Microsoft Word Bachelor-Thesis-bl-pi-klar docx

4.9 Quality Criteria
 
Bryman and Bell (2011), and Golafshani (2003) both discuss reliability, validity, and 
replication as essential criteria’s for estimating the quality in business research. A study 
should be a method for collecting empirical data. No matter what kind of empirical data that 
is gathered, the research should achieve two requirements. The study should; (1) be valid and 
relevant (validity), and (2) reliable and credible (reliability) (Jacobsen, 2002). Reliability 
refers to the question if the outcome of a research is repeatable. Reliability is closely related 
to the criterion replicability. In order for a study to be considered reliable and replicable, the 
research must be able to be replicated and repeated. Validity refers to the outcome of the 
conclusion based on the research and that the measurement instrument measures what it is 
supposed to measure. It is a matter of whether or not the research concept measures what it 
has been constructed to measure (Bryman & Bell, 2011). Bryman & Bell (2011) highlights 
external reliability, internal reliability, internal validity, and external validity
as criteria in 
relation to qualitative research. 
4.9.1 External reliability
 
External reliability is concerned with the degree if a study can be replicated and repeated. It is 
a challenging criterion when it comes to qualitative research, since it is considered to be 
impossible to “freeze” a social environment. However, there are suggestions of approaches 
that one can introduce in order to endeavor external reliability (Bryman & Bell, 2011). 
Bryman & Bell (2011) mentions that in order to achieve external reliability, the qualitative 

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researcher that replicates the study needs to apply a similar social setting as adopted by the 
original researcher. Otherwise the researcher replicating the original study will not hear or see 
the same information, and will therefore not be comparable to the original study (Bryman & 
Bell, 2011).
Since it is difficult to achieve external reliability in a qualitative study, the authors explained 
the environment in which the interviews took place and in what way the interviews were 
conducted in order to endeavor as high external reliability as possible. The researchers 
explained in what way the respondents were chosen for participation. This led to the authors 
conducting interviews with a relevant target group for the study.