Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Apr 30;67(1):e1-e6.
doi: 10.4102/safp.v67i1.6082.

Reflections on qualitative research: Lessons learned to ensure research integrity

Deidré Pretorius  1 , Khyati Dama, Michelle Erasmus
Affiliations

Reflections on qualitative research: Lessons learned to ensure research integrity

Deidré Pretorius et al. S Afr Fam Pract (2004). .

Abstract

This article focusses on teaching medical students qualitative research in a practical setting of a study about sexual health. Insufficient training, research deviating from the proposal and context-related factors contributed to compromising trustworthiness of the study. The article provides a background to the study and reflects on factors that contributed to the breach of research integrity after the research supervisor questioned the credibility of findings. A semi-structured interview schedule was used, and data analysis exposed flaws. The team used Jasper's reflective cycle to change a crisis into a learning opportunity. The action plan triggered round two of data collection, followed by another reflective cycle.Contribution: The supervision role and student knowledge and attitude contributed to the undergraduate research project. Until a research report is submitted or data published, researchers can learn from the process to produce reliable results and rigorous ethical research.

Keywords: Jasper’s reflection model; credibility; qualitative research; research integrity; student-supervisor relationship.; supervision; trustworthiness.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The undergraduate research process.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The reflection cycle during the research process and emerging themes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gill SL. Qualitative sampling methods. J Hum Lact. 2020;36(4):579–581. 10.1177/0890334420949218 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Van Beveren L, Roets G, Buysse A, Rutten K. We all reflect, but why? A systematic review of the purposes of reflection in higher education in social and behavioral sciences. Educ Res Rev. 2018;24:1–9. 10.1016/j.edurev.2018.01.002 - DOI
    1. Guo L. How should reflection be supported in higher education? – A meta-analysis of reflection interventions. Reflective Pract. 2022;23(1):118–146. 10.1080/14623943.2021.1995856 - DOI
    1. Machost H, Stains M. Reflective practices in education: A primer for practitioners. CBE Life Sci Educ. 2023;22(2):es2. 10.1187/cbe.22-07-0148 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jasper M, Rosser M, Mooney G. Professional development, reflection and decision-making in nursing and healthcare. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2013; p. 258.

LinkOut - more resources