title: Use of an audit in violence prevention research.
abstract: Auditing is an effective tool for articulating the trustworthiness and credibility of qualitative research. However, little information exists on how to conduct an audit. In this article, the authors illustrate their use of an audit team to explore the methods and preliminary findings of a study aimed at identifying the relevant and challenging problems experienced by urban teenagers. This study was the first in a series of studies to improve the ecological validity of violence prevention programs for high-risk urban teenagers, titled Identifying Essential Skills for Violence Prevention. The five phases of this audit were engaging the auditor, becoming familiar with the study, discussing methods and determining strengths and limitations, articulating audit findings, and planning subsequent research. Positioning the audit before producing final results allows researchers to address many study limitations, uncover potential sources of bias in the thematic structure, and systematically plan subsequent steps in an emerging design.
authors.affiliation: Center for Promotion of Positive Youth Development, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth Hite
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Erwin
authors.forename: Aleta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: McClain
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016497:Adolescent Health Services; D000296:Adolescent Psychiatry; D003151:Community Health Centers; D004282:Documentation; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016730:Program Development; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012107:Research Design; D012572:School Health Services; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014768:Virginia