Open AccessAuthenticity in Constructivist Inquiry: Assessing an Elusive Construct
Author(s) -
Patrick Shan,
Elyse Hambacher
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the qualitative report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2160-3715
DOI - 10.46743/2160-3715/2014.1418
Subject(s) - constructivist teaching methods , positivism , construct (python library) , epistemology , psychology , social constructivism , constructivism (international relations) , parallels , pedagogy , teaching method , computer science , politics , philosophy , international relations , political science , law , mechanical engineering , programming language , engineering
Methodological rigor in constructivist inquiry is established through an assessment of trustworthiness and authenticity. Trustworthiness parallels the positivistic concepts of internal and external validity, focusing on an assessment of the inquiry process. Authenticity, however, is unique to constructivist inquiry and has no parallel in the positivistic paradigm. Authenticity involves an assessment of the meaningfulness and usefulness of interactive inquiry processes and social change that results from these processes. However, the techniques for ascertaining authenticity are in the early stages of development. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to describe a process for assessing authenticity in a constructivist inquiry. A brief overview of constructivist inquiries are described in relation to a set of techniques designed specifically to assess five dimensions of authenticity. Implications for constructivist researchers and social work research are presented.