Assessing the Quality of Qualitative Health Research: Criteria, Process and Writing

Abstract

The debate surrounding the assessment of quality in qualitative research becomes particularly relevant in the field of Qualitative Health Research (QHR). The characteristics of both its theoretical implications and the practical use of its results support the need for defining shared coordinates for quality assessment that respond to both the methodological requirements and the substantive components of QHR. From this I considered identifying three dimensions: criteria, process and writing. These have frequently been intermingled in previously published QHR quality assessment proposals. Aiming at integrating the development of new and necessary contributions, my explanation of these dimensions and the relationships among them is based on a wide-ranging review of published literature. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0902178

Keywords

• qualitative health research
• quality assessment
• quality criteria
• critical appraisal