Member Check - Positive Aspects of Member-Checking

Positive Aspects of Member-Checking

Member checking provides an opportunity to understand and determine what the author intended to do through their actions. It gives them the ability to correct errors and challenge what are perceived as wrong interpretations. Member checking provides the opportunity to volunteer additional information which may be stimulated by the playing back process. Gets respondent on the record with their reports. Provides people that respond the opportunity to assess adequacy of data and preliminary results as well as to confirm particular aspects of the data. The ability to summarize the preliminary findings.The major problem with member checking however is that it relies on the assumption that there is a fixed truth of reality that can be accounted for by a researcher and can be confirmed by a respondent, which may not be true. In fact, member checks are not consistent with the philosophy of non positivistic qualitative research methods. See positivism for more information on philosophy of approach.