Validity and Reliability

When carrying out a research project such as that on visual merchandising in Orkney, issues of reliability and validity must be examined, in order to make sure that the data collected has the correct level of appropriate-ness as evidence and, which can withstand examination through the complexity of human interaction.

Especially when considering personal, emotional responses to research data, certainly relevant in this case given the strictly visual nature of the data itself, the research question must allow for as unbiased a view as possible of that data. Excess imagery within the photographs which could skew an emotional response to the main aspect should also be avoided in some cases, which, in my opinion, includes my own research.

There must also be some form of justification for the particular type of research to be carried out, some academic ‘need’ as it were. In the case of my own personal research on visual merchandising, this is the large amount of interest which has been shown previously in the subject and also it’s importance both culturally and economically within society.

Again, the uncovering of emotional and or physically specific relationships within my research, for example, the photographs being from Kirkwall’s main shopping area, becomes especially relevant given that this data will be mainly analyzed by the viewer after the event, leaving much less room for preconceived cultural notions on the part of the researcher.

Method must also be considered and, while it may seem more reliable to use several types within my research, the constraints of a ‘visual’ sociology and also my own resources mean that that this is somewhat impossible. The use of a widely available, clear and yet non-technical digital camera should constitute a clear and unbiased approach to the presentation of my results however.