Developing Value for S-STTEP Research by Establishing Trustworthiness and Being Trustworthy

One of the enduring questions for qualitative researchers has to do with establishing their research accounts as trustworthy and rigorous scholarship. This presents unique challenges for S-STTEP researchers since for us the issue is not just establishing trustworthiness but also being trustworthy – in our practice and in our research on it. This is not to argue that other qualitative researchers are not trustworthy or that they do not act with integrity. Instead, the point is that since our practice is our research and our research is our practice, acting with integrity and establishing ourselves as trustworthy is necessary for us both in our practice and in our research accounts of it. This chapter explores this dilemma and the issues around establishing trustworthiness and acting in ethical ways within the research and the practice that emerges in this kind of research.