This paper focuses on issues of data trustworthiness in praxis-oriented empirical work, research openly committed to the building of a world in which we can all flourish. The central argument is that those exploring the possibilities for a change-enhancing advocacy paradigm for doing empirical research in the human sciences must begin to be more systematic about establishing the trustworthiness of data. There are two assumptions basic to the argument: (1) that we are in a postpositivist period in the human sciences, a period marked by methodological and epistemological ferment, and (2) that explicitly value-based emancipatory research has an important voice to add to that ferment. After an overview of the postpositivist era, the heart of the paper focuses on three issues raised when attempting to articulate empirical accountability in praxis-oriented work: (1) the tension between advocacy and scholarship; (2) the relationship between theory and data; and (3) the criteria which can be brought to bear in judging the quality of research designed not only to understand, but also to change the maldistribution of power and resources which underlies our society. A five-page bibliography concludes the document. (LMO)