Qualitative research and the evaluation of development impact: incorporating authenticity into the assessment of rigour

Abstract

Renewed attention is being paid to the quality of qualitative research in studies of development impact in the wake of intense debate over the role of randomised control trials. These debates raised the bar over quality while also provoking concerns about whose voices matter and the politics of evidence-based policymaking. This article argues that both of these issues can be addressed through Guba and Lincoln’s trustworthiness criteria, and particularly the principle of authenticity which was developed to respond to demands for research to be transformative and emancipatory. Adopting these criteria in commissioned evaluations as checklist, ‘artefacts’ are a means to improve rigour and raise ethical standards.

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