Leitch, Claire and Hill, Frances and Harrison, Richard (2010) The philosophy and practice of interpretivist research in entrepreneurship: Quality, validation and trust. Organizational Research Methods, 13 (1). pp. 67-84. ISSN 1094-4281
10.pdf - Submitted Version
Download (175kB)
Abstract
Knowledge production in entrepreneurship requires inclusivity as well as diversity and pluralism in research perspectives and approaches. In this article, the authors address concerns about interpretivist research regarding validity, reliability, objectivity, generalizability, and communicability of results that militate against its more widespread acceptance. Following the nonfoundationalist argument that all observation is theory-laden, context specific, and that there are no external criteria against which to assess research design and execution and the data produced, the authors propose that quality must be internalized within the underlying research philosophy rather than something to be tested upon completion. This requires a shift from the notion of validity as an outcome to validation as a process. To elucidate this, they provide a guiding framework and present a case illustration that will assist an interpretivist entrepreneurship researcher to establish and demonstrate the quality of their work.