The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Judging quality in peer research: a comparison of adult- and peer-led focus groups in a Kenyan context

Judging quality in peer research: a comparison of adult- and peer-led focus groups in a Kenyan context
Judging quality in peer research: a comparison of adult- and peer-led focus groups in a Kenyan context
Peer research has been recognized as an important strategy. As with other qualitative approaches, one issue that is often raised is how do we judge the quality of such methods? This paper argues that one of the ways we can do this is by comparing the data collected through participatory methods with that collected with other research strategies within the same research context. This was done through a qualitative study which investigated student's attitudes towards ethnicity and politics in two secondary schools in Kenya. A research design was developed using focus-group discussions where half of the focus groups were led by an adult researcher and the other half by a student researcher. The paper will compare the data collected from these two kinds of focus groups using the framework method in order to illustrate that peer research produces high-quality data comparable to that collected using other means. Moreover, the paper will use reflections from the process to show that one other way that we can judge the quality of peer research is through the benefits that accrue not only to the peer researchers such as skills development but also to the adult researchers, for example greater reflexivity
1743-727X
1-21
Ngarachu, Fiona Wairimu
99f5c0a5-f20e-425b-a3a2-da56d428243b
Ngarachu, Fiona Wairimu
99f5c0a5-f20e-425b-a3a2-da56d428243b

Ngarachu, Fiona Wairimu (2015) Judging quality in peer research: a comparison of adult- and peer-led focus groups in a Kenyan context. International Journal of Research and Method in Education, 1-21. (doi:10.1080/1743727X.2015.1018887).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Peer research has been recognized as an important strategy. As with other qualitative approaches, one issue that is often raised is how do we judge the quality of such methods? This paper argues that one of the ways we can do this is by comparing the data collected through participatory methods with that collected with other research strategies within the same research context. This was done through a qualitative study which investigated student's attitudes towards ethnicity and politics in two secondary schools in Kenya. A research design was developed using focus-group discussions where half of the focus groups were led by an adult researcher and the other half by a student researcher. The paper will compare the data collected from these two kinds of focus groups using the framework method in order to illustrate that peer research produces high-quality data comparable to that collected using other means. Moreover, the paper will use reflections from the process to show that one other way that we can judge the quality of peer research is through the benefits that accrue not only to the peer researchers such as skills development but also to the adult researchers, for example greater reflexivity

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 17 September 2014
Published date: 18 March 2015
Organisations: Politics & International Relations

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 376141
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/376141
ISSN: 1743-727X
PURE UUID: cfefb0c6-1edc-4ca8-8ebb-5d4869ce58b1

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 24 Apr 2015 12:58
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 19:39

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Fiona Wairimu Ngarachu

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×