A Qualitative Inquiry into Students’ Management of Learning: Interpretation and Trustworthiness
Dr Viola Wong Yuk-Yue

Abstract
This paper shows how ‘interpretation’ shapes a qualitative inquiry into Chinese students’ management of learning at university. The methodology and methods adopted in the study to examine students’ management of their learning are described in order to provide information for an appreciation of the role of interpretation in qualitative data gathering and analysis. Interpretation constitutes a large part of the study – from defining problems and aims, generating and marshalling relevant data as facts, to examining the data to arrive at an understanding and giving meaning and significance of what has been examined. This paper elaborates on the points taken into consideration when establishing the trustworthiness of the study process. It shows how interpretation could be an ‘enabler,’ empowering the researcher to make sense of what she was studying and to capture the myriad multiple realities in the quest for understanding.

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