acked them up with sufficient evidence from previous studies. The four reasons given in the literature review were: "closeness is at the heart of one's most personal life relationships"; "numerous studies in psychology, sociology, and family studies have examined factors such as critical events, divorce, age, ethnicity, physical distance, and gender, which play a role in adult offspring's' levels of closeness with their parents"; "lack of research in the field of communication concerning the nature of closeness in child-parent relationships"; and "numerous theories of relationship change have delineated stages through which couples progress or regress in their levels of intimacy, openness, and processual view of relationship change" (Golish, 1999). All of the reasons that Golish (1999) gave in her literature review for conducting this study were well defined and very clear. The explanations of previous research were cited and the logic behind them was well identified. Because of the in depth knowledge that Golish (1999) portrayed through the literature review, it is easier to recognize why this study was validated and necessary.Reliability of the researchIn order for research to be valid, it must have a high degree of reliability. Any outstanding flaws in information will cast doubt in other researchers' minds. Reliability can be determined by the methods used, the data collected, and also by the results reported. This particular study showed a consistent level of reliability. Because the methods used involved one-on-one contact with the participants, the answers were probably more valid than they would have been in questionnaires. The data analysis that was done using the information gathered was also reliable. Using two coders to compartmentalize the turning points into themes, "emergent patterns and themes that describe the nature of closeness of adult children and their mothers/fathers over time" were developed and record...
