Frankenberg was interested in exploring the range of possible meanings of whiteness, race, and racism in contemporary US society. She had specific criteria for choosing her research participants. As noted above, Frankenberg chose to interview women who represented a broad spectrum of backgrounds in her analysis of white women s experiences. This choice was not based on the assumption of needing to form a representative sample from which findings could be generalized to a broader population. Rather, her choice was informed by the assumption, prevalent in qualitative research, of trustworthiness.
Credibility refers to establishing the truth value or accuracy of the research findings.
Transferability implies describing the context of the research, referring specifically to the content and process of the research. Confirmability is achieved by using triangulation and an audit trail as a way of cross-checking and confirming the findings. The increased depth that is made possible through the use of in-depth interviews has limitations however. The researcher explains that through these moments of recounting and forgetting, she became aware not only of what was being expressed in the stories told by her participants but also what was not being expressed. The stories being told during the interviews were only partial accounts.