Conflicting Discourses in Qualitative Research: The Search for Divergent Data within Cases

The search for disconfirming evidence, or negative cases, is often considered a valuable strategy for assessing the credibility or validity of qualitative research claims. This article draws on a multimethod qualitative research project to illustrate how a search for disconfirming evidence evolved from a check on the validity of findings to a strategy for revealing the multiple conflicting discourses within respondents’ narratives that transformed ambiguity into meaning. Reflecting on our study design and analytical process revealed multiple ways in which conflicting discourses were revealed. Field notes, research memoing, and comparison of findings across interview methods all contributed to the identification of conflicting discourses within narratives. The importance and relevance of the search for conflicting discourses for understanding meaning in qualitative research will be discussed.