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DEFINING VALIDITY 139
is to abide by central ethical tenets of much
research – non-traceability, anonymity and nonidentifiability.
Cultural validity
A type of validity related to ecological validity
is cultural validity (Morgan 1999). This is
particularly an issue in cross-cultural, intercultural
and comparative kinds of research, where the
intention is to shape research so that it is
appropriate to the culture of the researched,
and where the researcher and the researched are
members of different cultures. Cultural validity
is defined as ‘the degree to which a study is
appropriate to the cultural setting where research
is to be carried out’ (Joy 2003: 1). Cultural
validity, Morgan (1999) suggests, applies at all
stages of the research, and affects its planning,
implementation and dissemination. It involves a
degree of sensitivity to the participants, cultures
and circumstances being studied. Morgan (2005)
writes that
cultural validity entails an appreciation of the
cultural values of those being researched. This
could include: understanding possibly different
target culture attitudes to research; identifying
and understanding salient terms as used in the
target culture; reviewing appropriate target language
literature; choosing research instruments that are
acceptable to the target participants; checking
interpretations and translations of data with native
speakers; and being aware of one’s own cultural filters
as a researcher.
(Morgan 2005: 1)
Joy (2003: 1) presents twelve important questions
that researchers in different cultural contexts
may face, to ensure that research is culture-fair and
culturally sensitive:
Is the research question understandable and of
importance to the target group
Is the researcher the appropriate person to
conduct the research
Are the sources of the theories that the research
is based on appropriate for the target culture
How do researchers in the target culture deal
with the issues related to the research question
(including their method and findings)
Are appropriate gatekeepers and informants
chosen
Are the research design and research
instruments ethical and appropriate according
to the standards of the target culture
How do members of the target culture define
the salient terms of the research
Are documents and other information translated
in a culturally appropriate way
Are the possible results of the research of
potential value and benefit to the target
culture
Does interpretation of the results include the
opinions and views of members of the target
culture
Are the results made available to members of
the target culture for review and comment
Does the researcher accurately and fairly
communicate the results in their cultural
context to people who are not members of
the target culture
Catalytic validity
Catalytic validity embraces the paradigm of critical
theory discussed in Chapter 1. Put neutrally,
catalytic validity simply strives to ensure that
research leads to action. However, the story does
not end there, for discussions of catalytic validity
are substantive; like critical theory, catalytic
validity suggests an agenda. Lather (1986, 1991)
and Kincheloe and McLaren (1994) suggest that
the agenda for catalytic validity is to help
participants to understand their worlds in order
to transform them. The agenda is explicitly
political, for catalytic validity suggests the need
to expose whose definitions of the situation are
operating in the situation. Lincoln and Guba
(1986) suggest that the criterion of ‘fairness’ should
be applied to research, meaning that it should
not only augment and improve the participants’
experience of the world, but also improve the
empowerment of the participants. In this respect
the research might focus on what might be (the
Chapter 6