CREDIBILITY: how believable the conclusions of the research are and how much they reflect the beliefs and opinions of the participants.
Credibility involves establishing that results of qualitative research are believable from the perspective of the participants.
To ensure credibility:
researchers must be self-aware and conscious of their contribution to the study; they must not let it bias the results
reflexivity must be used to avoid participatnt expectation and researcher bias
Use:
triangulation (theoretical, researcher, data, methodological) (further information can be found under L.O: 'explain the effect of triangulation on the credibility/trustworthiness of qualitative research')