Quality control in qualitative case study research: Reflections on an arts-based writing project

Quality control, and more specifically trustworthiness in qualitative research is a recurring issue which can be addressed through well-established research techniques. This paper focuses on how the creation of a tool called translation device to connect theory and data contributes to supporting trustworthiness in qualitative case studies. The translation device described in the paper is a tool commonly used in research studies working with the multidimensional toolkit called Legitimation Code Theory within educational sociology. After arguing for the necessity of such a device in qualitative research, the process of creating translation devices in two case studies are presented. The case studies focus on the development of higher education students' multimodal literacy in the context of exhibition visits. Insights are given into the data collection and analytical process of the case studies to illustrate how the translation device contributes to quality control on multiple levels.