The DOI matches its Crossref record; 29 of the 29 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Evaluation of qualitative research
Abstract
Summary: • It is necessary to subject published research to critical scrutiny, in order to evaluate the robustness of the findings. • The criteria used in evaluation require to be appropriate for the research paradigm, i.e. quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative conceptualizations of reliability and validity are unsuitable for evaluation of qualitative research as they were not devised for this purpose. • The use of quantitative criteria to evaluate qualitative research may create the impression that the latter is not academically rigorous. • Evaluation criteria which are specific to qualitative research require identification and application, in order to provide a formalized and rigorous approach to critical appraisal. • A formalized framework for evaluation will help to ensure that the contribution of qualitative studies, with specific reference to health services research, receives optimum recognition. • The work of a number of writers is used in this paper to examine the features which distinguish qualitative research and the following are discussed: • the need for researcher reflexivity; • the use of the ‘first person’ in academic work; • the context in which research takes place; • the selection of research participants; • the interpretation of participants' accounts; • the active acknowledgement of ‘lay’ knowledge; • researcher flexibility within the research process; • the generalizability of findings. • It is concluded that academically rigorous criteria, which are appropriate for evaluation of qualitative research, exist and are available for use by practitioners and researchers.
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“Moreover, for evaluating qualitative research, quantitative conceptualizations of reliability and validity are proven to be incompatible (Horsburgh, 2003).”
From Criteria for Good Qualitative Research: A Comprehensive Review (2022) · cites this paper as Horsburgh, 2003
Citations
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study
Vaismoradi, M., Turunen, H., & Bondas, T. (2013) · Nursing & Health Sciences · doi:10.1111/nhs.12048 · Cited by 8,327
Now I see it, now I don’t: researcher’s position and reflexivity in qualitative research
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BackgroundInfluentialTheme development in qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis
Vaismoradi, M., Jones, J., Turunen, H., & Snelgrove, S. (2016) · Journal of Nursing Education and Practice · doi:10.5430/jnep.v6n5p100 · Cited by 1,994
Rigour in qualitative case-study research
Houghton, C., Casey, D., Shaw, D., & Murphy, K. (2013) · Nurse Researcher · doi:10.7748/nr2013.03.20.4.12.e326 · Cited by 813
Moretti, F., van Vliet, L., Bensing, J. M., Deledda, G., Mazzi, M. A., Rimondini, M., Zimmermann, C., & Fletcher, I. J. (2011) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/j.pec.2011.01.005 · Cited by 453
Metadata
- Authors
- Horsburgh, D.
- Affiliations
- Edinburgh Napier University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Horsburgh, Dorothy
- Venue
- Journal of Clinical Nursing
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2003-03
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 307-312
- ISSN
- 0962-1067 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2702
- OpenAlex
- W2147457178
- Cited by
- 459
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 36 · 2015: 25 · 2014: 41 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 32
- FWCI
- 40.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Clinical Nursing (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Output (Edinburgh Napier University) (submittedVersion)
- Edinburgh Napier Research Repository (Edinburgh Napier University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Qualitative Research Methods and Applications
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
- Social Sciences › Education › Educational Research and Methods
- Keywords
- critical appraisal, evaluation criteria, researcher reflexivity, first person, lay knowledge, generalizability, research participant selection, health services research, research rigor
- MeSH terms
- Evaluation Studies as Topic, Research Design, Reproducibility of Results, Nursing Research, Qualitative Research
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