Quality criteria for qualitative inquiries in logistics

This paper confronts the traditional way of judging logistics research that is based on concepts such as validity and reliability. It does so by drawing attention to parallel criteria from interpretivist research approaches, including credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability. The aim is not to replace traditional criteria, but to present these alternative views relating to research quality and to reflect on the resulting criteria’s possible role in logistics. A basic assumption of this paper is the recognition of several trends in the logistics discipline that indicate a departure from the traditional positivistic paradigm towards multi-paradigmatic research efforts. These include the use of a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods. It is suggested that researchers in logistics, when dealing with certain ‘soft’ issues of logistics, should consider and benefit from these alternative criteria.

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