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This review aims to synthesize a published set of evaluative criteria for good qualitative research. The aim is to shed light on existing standards for assessing the rigor of qualitative research encompassing a range of epistemological and ontological standpoints. Using a systematic search strategy, published journal articles that deliberate criteria for rigorous research were identified. Then, references of relevant articles were surveyed to find noteworthy, distinct, and well-defined pointers to good qualitative research. This review presents an investigative assessment of the pivotal features in qualitative research that can permit the readers to pass judgment on its quality and to condemn it as good research when objectively and adequately utilized. Overall, this review underlines the crux of qualitative research and accentuates the necessity to evaluate such research by the very tenets of its being. It also offers some prospects and recommendations to improve the quality of qualitative research. Based on the findings of this review, it is concluded that quality criteria are the aftereffect of socio-institutional procedures and existing paradigmatic conducts. Owing to the paradigmatic diversity of qualitative research, a single and specific set of quality criteria is neither feasible nor anticipated. Since qualitative research is not a cohesive discipline, researchers need to educate and familiarize themselves with applicable norms and decisive factors to evaluate qualitative research from within its theoretical and methodological framework of origin.
Reporting reliability, convergent and discriminant validity with structural equation modeling: a review and best-practice recommendations, systematic review or scoping review guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping review approach.
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“… It is important to regularly dialogue about what makes for good qualitative research” (Tracy, 2010 , p. 837)
To decide what represents good qualitative research is highly debatable. There are numerous methods that are contained within qualitative research and that are established on diverse philosophical perspectives. Bryman et al., ( 2008 , p. 262) suggest that “It is widely assumed that whereas quality criteria for quantitative research are well‐known and widely agreed, this is not the case for qualitative research.” Hence, the question “how to evaluate the quality of qualitative research” has been continuously debated. There are many areas of science and technology wherein these debates on the assessment of qualitative research have taken place. Examples include various areas of psychology: general psychology (Madill et al., 2000 ); counseling psychology (Morrow, 2005 ); and clinical psychology (Barker & Pistrang, 2005 ), and other disciplines of social sciences: social policy (Bryman et al., 2008 ); health research (Sparkes, 2001 ); business and management research (Johnson et al., 2006 ); information systems (Klein & Myers, 1999 ); and environmental studies (Reid & Gough, 2000 ). In the literature, these debates are enthused by the impression that the blanket application of criteria for good qualitative research developed around the positivist paradigm is improper. Such debates are based on the wide range of philosophical backgrounds within which qualitative research is conducted (e.g., Sandberg, 2000 ; Schwandt, 1996 ). The existence of methodological diversity led to the formulation of different sets of criteria applicable to qualitative research.
Among qualitative researchers, the dilemma of governing the measures to assess the quality of research is not a new phenomenon, especially when the virtuous triad of objectivity, reliability, and validity (Spencer et al., 2004 ) are not adequate. Occasionally, the criteria of quantitative research are used to evaluate qualitative research (Cohen & Crabtree, 2008 ; Lather, 2004 ). Indeed, Howe ( 2004 ) claims that the prevailing paradigm in educational research is scientifically based experimental research. Hypotheses and conjectures about the preeminence of quantitative research can weaken the worth and usefulness of qualitative research by neglecting the prominence of harmonizing match for purpose on research paradigm, the epistemological stance of the researcher, and the choice of methodology. Researchers have been reprimanded concerning this in “paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences” (Lincoln & Guba, 2000 ).
In general, qualitative research tends to come from a very different paradigmatic stance and intrinsically demands distinctive and out-of-the-ordinary criteria for evaluating good research and varieties of research contributions that can be made. This review attempts to present a series of evaluative criteria for qualitative researchers, arguing that their choice of criteria needs to be compatible with the unique nature of the research in question (its methodology, aims, and assumptions). This review aims to assist researchers in identifying some of the indispensable features or markers of high-quality qualitative research. In a nutshell, the purpose of this systematic literature review is to analyze the existing knowledge on high-quality qualitative research and to verify the existence of research studies dealing with the critical assessment of qualitative research based on the concept of diverse paradigmatic stances. Contrary to the existing reviews, this review also suggests some critical directions to follow to improve the quality of qualitative research in different epistemological and ontological perspectives. This review is also intended to provide guidelines for the acceleration of future developments and dialogues among qualitative researchers in the context of assessing the qualitative research.
The rest of this review article is structured in the following fashion: Sect. Methods describes the method followed for performing this review. Section Criteria for Evaluating Qualitative Studies provides a comprehensive description of the criteria for evaluating qualitative studies. This section is followed by a summary of the strategies to improve the quality of qualitative research in Sect. Improving Quality: Strategies . Section How to Assess the Quality of the Research Findings? provides details on how to assess the quality of the research findings. After that, some of the quality checklists (as tools to evaluate quality) are discussed in Sect. Quality Checklists: Tools for Assessing the Quality . At last, the review ends with the concluding remarks presented in Sect. Conclusions, Future Directions and Outlook . Some prospects in qualitative research for enhancing its quality and usefulness in the social and techno-scientific research community are also presented in Sect. Conclusions, Future Directions and Outlook .
For this review, a comprehensive literature search was performed from many databases using generic search terms such as Qualitative Research , Criteria , etc . The following databases were chosen for the literature search based on the high number of results: IEEE Explore, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. The following keywords (and their combinations using Boolean connectives OR/AND) were adopted for the literature search: qualitative research, criteria, quality, assessment, and validity. The synonyms for these keywords were collected and arranged in a logical structure (see Table 1 ). All publications in journals and conference proceedings later than 1950 till 2021 were considered for the search. Other articles extracted from the references of the papers identified in the electronic search were also included. A large number of publications on qualitative research were retrieved during the initial screening. Hence, to include the searches with the main focus on criteria for good qualitative research, an inclusion criterion was utilized in the search string.
From the selected databases, the search retrieved a total of 765 publications. Then, the duplicate records were removed. After that, based on the title and abstract, the remaining 426 publications were screened for their relevance by using the following inclusion and exclusion criteria (see Table 2 ). Publications focusing on evaluation criteria for good qualitative research were included, whereas those works which delivered theoretical concepts on qualitative research were excluded. Based on the screening and eligibility, 45 research articles were identified that offered explicit criteria for evaluating the quality of qualitative research and were found to be relevant to this review.
Figure 1 illustrates the complete review process in the form of PRISMA flow diagram. PRISMA, i.e., “preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses” is employed in systematic reviews to refine the quality of reporting.
PRISMA flow diagram illustrating the search and inclusion process. N represents the number of records
Fundamental criteria: general research quality.
Various researchers have put forward criteria for evaluating qualitative research, which have been summarized in Table 3 . Also, the criteria outlined in Table 4 effectively deliver the various approaches to evaluate and assess the quality of qualitative work. The entries in Table 4 are based on Tracy’s “Eight big‐tent criteria for excellent qualitative research” (Tracy, 2010 ). Tracy argues that high-quality qualitative work should formulate criteria focusing on the worthiness, relevance, timeliness, significance, morality, and practicality of the research topic, and the ethical stance of the research itself. Researchers have also suggested a series of questions as guiding principles to assess the quality of a qualitative study (Mays & Pope, 2020 ). Nassaji ( 2020 ) argues that good qualitative research should be robust, well informed, and thoroughly documented.
All qualitative researchers follow highly abstract principles which bring together beliefs about ontology, epistemology, and methodology. These beliefs govern how the researcher perceives and acts. The net, which encompasses the researcher’s epistemological, ontological, and methodological premises, is referred to as a paradigm, or an interpretive structure, a “Basic set of beliefs that guides action” (Guba, 1990 ). Four major interpretive paradigms structure the qualitative research: positivist and postpositivist, constructivist interpretive, critical (Marxist, emancipatory), and feminist poststructural. The complexity of these four abstract paradigms increases at the level of concrete, specific interpretive communities. Table 5 presents these paradigms and their assumptions, including their criteria for evaluating research, and the typical form that an interpretive or theoretical statement assumes in each paradigm. Moreover, for evaluating qualitative research, quantitative conceptualizations of reliability and validity are proven to be incompatible (Horsburgh, 2003 ). In addition, a series of questions have been put forward in the literature to assist a reviewer (who is proficient in qualitative methods) for meticulous assessment and endorsement of qualitative research (Morse, 2003 ). Hammersley ( 2007 ) also suggests that guiding principles for qualitative research are advantageous, but methodological pluralism should not be simply acknowledged for all qualitative approaches. Seale ( 1999 ) also points out the significance of methodological cognizance in research studies.
Table 5 reflects that criteria for assessing the quality of qualitative research are the aftermath of socio-institutional practices and existing paradigmatic standpoints. Owing to the paradigmatic diversity of qualitative research, a single set of quality criteria is neither possible nor desirable. Hence, the researchers must be reflexive about the criteria they use in the various roles they play within their research community.
Another critical question is “How can the qualitative researchers ensure that the abovementioned quality criteria can be met?” Lincoln and Guba ( 1986 ) delineated several strategies to intensify each criteria of trustworthiness. Other researchers (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016 ; Shenton, 2004 ) also presented such strategies. A brief description of these strategies is shown in Table 6 .
It is worth mentioning that generalizability is also an integral part of qualitative research (Hays & McKibben, 2021 ). In general, the guiding principle pertaining to generalizability speaks about inducing and comprehending knowledge to synthesize interpretive components of an underlying context. Table 7 summarizes the main metasynthesis steps required to ascertain generalizability in qualitative research.
Figure 2 reflects the crucial components of a conceptual framework and their contribution to decisions regarding research design, implementation, and applications of results to future thinking, study, and practice (Johnson et al., 2020 ). The synergy and interrelationship of these components signifies their role to different stances of a qualitative research study.
Essential elements of a conceptual framework
In a nutshell, to assess the rationale of a study, its conceptual framework and research question(s), quality criteria must take account of the following: lucid context for the problem statement in the introduction; well-articulated research problems and questions; precise conceptual framework; distinct research purpose; and clear presentation and investigation of the paradigms. These criteria would expedite the quality of qualitative research.
The inclusion of quotes or similar research data enhances the confirmability in the write-up of the findings. The use of expressions (for instance, “80% of all respondents agreed that” or “only one of the interviewees mentioned that”) may also quantify qualitative findings (Stenfors et al., 2020 ). On the other hand, the persuasive reason for “why this may not help in intensifying the research” has also been provided (Monrouxe & Rees, 2020 ). Further, the Discussion and Conclusion sections of an article also prove robust markers of high-quality qualitative research, as elucidated in Table 8 .
Numerous checklists are available to speed up the assessment of the quality of qualitative research. However, if used uncritically and recklessly concerning the research context, these checklists may be counterproductive. I recommend that such lists and guiding principles may assist in pinpointing the markers of high-quality qualitative research. However, considering enormous variations in the authors’ theoretical and philosophical contexts, I would emphasize that high dependability on such checklists may say little about whether the findings can be applied in your setting. A combination of such checklists might be appropriate for novice researchers. Some of these checklists are listed below:
The most commonly used framework is Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) (Tong et al., 2007 ). This framework is recommended by some journals to be followed by the authors during article submission.
Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) is another checklist that has been created particularly for medical education (O’Brien et al., 2014 ).
Also, Tracy ( 2010 ) and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP, 2021 ) offer criteria for qualitative research relevant across methods and approaches.
Further, researchers have also outlined different criteria as hallmarks of high-quality qualitative research. For instance, the “Road Trip Checklist” (Epp & Otnes, 2021 ) provides a quick reference to specific questions to address different elements of high-quality qualitative research.
This work presents a broad review of the criteria for good qualitative research. In addition, this article presents an exploratory analysis of the essential elements in qualitative research that can enable the readers of qualitative work to judge it as good research when objectively and adequately utilized. In this review, some of the essential markers that indicate high-quality qualitative research have been highlighted. I scope them narrowly to achieve rigor in qualitative research and note that they do not completely cover the broader considerations necessary for high-quality research. This review points out that a universal and versatile one-size-fits-all guideline for evaluating the quality of qualitative research does not exist. In other words, this review also emphasizes the non-existence of a set of common guidelines among qualitative researchers. In unison, this review reinforces that each qualitative approach should be treated uniquely on account of its own distinctive features for different epistemological and disciplinary positions. Owing to the sensitivity of the worth of qualitative research towards the specific context and the type of paradigmatic stance, researchers should themselves analyze what approaches can be and must be tailored to ensemble the distinct characteristics of the phenomenon under investigation. Although this article does not assert to put forward a magic bullet and to provide a one-stop solution for dealing with dilemmas about how, why, or whether to evaluate the “goodness” of qualitative research, it offers a platform to assist the researchers in improving their qualitative studies. This work provides an assembly of concerns to reflect on, a series of questions to ask, and multiple sets of criteria to look at, when attempting to determine the quality of qualitative research. Overall, this review underlines the crux of qualitative research and accentuates the need to evaluate such research by the very tenets of its being. Bringing together the vital arguments and delineating the requirements that good qualitative research should satisfy, this review strives to equip the researchers as well as reviewers to make well-versed judgment about the worth and significance of the qualitative research under scrutiny. In a nutshell, a comprehensive portrayal of the research process (from the context of research to the research objectives, research questions and design, speculative foundations, and from approaches of collecting data to analyzing the results, to deriving inferences) frequently proliferates the quality of a qualitative research.
Irrefutably, qualitative research is a vivacious and evolving discipline wherein different epistemological and disciplinary positions have their own characteristics and importance. In addition, not surprisingly, owing to the sprouting and varied features of qualitative research, no consensus has been pulled off till date. Researchers have reflected various concerns and proposed several recommendations for editors and reviewers on conducting reviews of critical qualitative research (Levitt et al., 2021 ; McGinley et al., 2021 ). Following are some prospects and a few recommendations put forward towards the maturation of qualitative research and its quality evaluation:
In general, most of the manuscript and grant reviewers are not qualitative experts. Hence, it is more likely that they would prefer to adopt a broad set of criteria. However, researchers and reviewers need to keep in mind that it is inappropriate to utilize the same approaches and conducts among all qualitative research. Therefore, future work needs to focus on educating researchers and reviewers about the criteria to evaluate qualitative research from within the suitable theoretical and methodological context.
There is an urgent need to refurbish and augment critical assessment of some well-known and widely accepted tools (including checklists such as COREQ, SRQR) to interrogate their applicability on different aspects (along with their epistemological ramifications).
Efforts should be made towards creating more space for creativity, experimentation, and a dialogue between the diverse traditions of qualitative research. This would potentially help to avoid the enforcement of one's own set of quality criteria on the work carried out by others.
Moreover, journal reviewers need to be aware of various methodological practices and philosophical debates.
It is pivotal to highlight the expressions and considerations of qualitative researchers and bring them into a more open and transparent dialogue about assessing qualitative research in techno-scientific, academic, sociocultural, and political rooms.
Frequent debates on the use of evaluative criteria are required to solve some potentially resolved issues (including the applicability of a single set of criteria in multi-disciplinary aspects). Such debates would not only benefit the group of qualitative researchers themselves, but primarily assist in augmenting the well-being and vivacity of the entire discipline.
To conclude, I speculate that the criteria, and my perspective, may transfer to other methods, approaches, and contexts. I hope that they spark dialog and debate – about criteria for excellent qualitative research and the underpinnings of the discipline more broadly – and, therefore, help improve the quality of a qualitative study. Further, I anticipate that this review will assist the researchers to contemplate on the quality of their own research, to substantiate research design and help the reviewers to review qualitative research for journals. On a final note, I pinpoint the need to formulate a framework (encompassing the prerequisites of a qualitative study) by the cohesive efforts of qualitative researchers of different disciplines with different theoretic-paradigmatic origins. I believe that tailoring such a framework (of guiding principles) paves the way for qualitative researchers to consolidate the status of qualitative research in the wide-ranging open science debate. Dialogue on this issue across different approaches is crucial for the impending prospects of socio-techno-educational research.
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Basic definitions, coreq: content and rationale (see tables 1 ).
Allison Tong, Peter Sainsbury, Jonathan Craig, Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): a 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups, International Journal for Quality in Health Care , Volume 19, Issue 6, December 2007, Pages 349–357, https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzm042
Qualitative research explores complex phenomena encountered by clinicians, health care providers, policy makers and consumers. Although partial checklists are available, no consolidated reporting framework exists for any type of qualitative design.
To develop a checklist for explicit and comprehensive reporting of qualitative studies (indepth interviews and focus groups).
We performed a comprehensive search in Cochrane and Campbell Protocols, Medline, CINAHL, systematic reviews of qualitative studies, author or reviewer guidelines of major medical journals and reference lists of relevant publications for existing checklists used to assess qualitative studies. Seventy-six items from 22 checklists were compiled into a comprehensive list. All items were grouped into three domains: (i) research team and reflexivity, (ii) study design and (iii) data analysis and reporting. Duplicate items and those that were ambiguous, too broadly defined and impractical to assess were removed.
Items most frequently included in the checklists related to sampling method, setting for data collection, method of data collection, respondent validation of findings, method of recording data, description of the derivation of themes and inclusion of supporting quotations. We grouped all items into three domains: (i) research team and reflexivity, (ii) study design and (iii) data analysis and reporting.
The criteria included in COREQ, a 32-item checklist, can help researchers to report important aspects of the research team, study methods, context of the study, findings, analysis and interpretations.
Qualitative research explores complex phenomena encountered by clinicians, health care providers, policy makers and consumers in health care. Poorly designed studies and inadequate reporting can lead to inappropriate application of qualitative research in decision-making, health care, health policy and future research.
Formal reporting guidelines have been developed for randomized controlled trials (CONSORT) [ 1 ], diagnostic test studies (STARD), meta-analysis of RCTs (QUOROM) [ 2 ], observational studies (STROBE) [ 3 ] and meta-analyses of observational studies (MOOSE) [ 4 ]. These aim to improve the quality of reporting these study types and allow readers to better understand the design, conduct, analysis and findings of published studies. This process allows users of published research to be more fuller informed when they critically appraise studies relevant to each checklist and decide upon applicability of research findings to their local settings. Empiric studies have shown that the use of the CONSORT statement is associated with improvements in the quality of reports of randomized controlled trials [ 5 ]. Systematic reviews of qualitative research almost always show that key aspects of study design are not reported, and so there is a clear need for a CONSORT-equivalent for qualitative research [ 6 ].
The Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) do not provide reporting guidelines for qualitative studies. Of all the mainstream biomedical journals (Fig. 1 ), only the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has criteria for reviewing qualitative research. However, the guidelines for authors specifically record that the checklist is not routinely used. In addition, the checklist is not comprehensive and does not provide specific guidance to assess some of the criteria. Although checklists for critical appraisal are available for qualitative research, there is no widely endorsed reporting framework for any type of qualitative research [ 7 ].
Development of the COREQ Checklist. *References [ 26 , 27 ], † References [ 6 , 28–32 ], ‡ Author and reviewer guidelines provided by BMJ, JAMA, Lancet, Annals of Internal Medicine, NEJM.
We have developed a formal reporting checklist for in-depth interviews and focus groups, the most common methods for data collection in qualitative health research. These two methods are particularly useful for eliciting patient and consumer priorities and needs to improve the quality of health care [ 8 ]. The checklist aims to promote complete and transparent reporting among researchers and indirectly improve the rigor, comprehensiveness and credibility of interview and focus-group studies.
Qualitative studies use non-quantitative methods to contribute new knowledge and to provide new perspectives in health care. Although qualitative research encompasses a broad range of study methods, most qualitative research publications in health care describe the use of interviews and focus groups [ 8 ].
In-depth and semi-structured interviews explore the experiences of participants and the meanings they attribute to them. Researchers encourage participants to talk about issues pertinent to the research question by asking open-ended questions, usually in one-to-one interviews. The interviewer might re-word, re-order or clarify the questions to further investigate topics introduced by the respondent. In qualitative health research, in-depth interviews are often used to study the experiences and meanings of disease, and to explore personal and sensitive themes. They can also help to identify potentially modifiable factors for improving health care [ 9 ].
Focus groups are semi-structured discussions with groups of 4–12 people that aim to explore a specific set of issues [ 10 ]. Moderators often commence the focus group by asking broad questions about the topic of interest, before asking the focal questions. Although participants individually answer the facilitator's questions, they are encouraged to talk and interact with each other [ 11 ]. This technique is built on the notion that the group interaction encourages respondents to explore and clarify individual and shared perspectives [ 12 ]. Focus groups are used to explore views on health issues, programs, interventions and research.
Search strategy.
We performed a comprehensive search for published checklists used to assess or review qualitative studies, and guidelines for reporting qualitative studies in: Medline (1966—Week 1 April 2006), CINAHL (1982—Week 3 April 2006), Cochrane and Campbell protocols, systematic reviews of qualitative studies, author or reviewer guidelines of major medical journals and reference lists of relevant publications. We identified the terms used to index the relevant articles already in our possession and performed a broad search using those search terms. The electronic databases were searched using terms and text words for research (standards), health services research (standards) and qualitative studies (evaluation). Duplicate checklists and detailed instructions for conducting and analysing qualitative studies were excluded.
From each of the included publications, we extracted all criteria for assessing or reporting qualitative studies. Seventy-six items from 22 checklists were compiled into a comprehensive list. We recorded the frequency of each item across all the publications. Items most frequently included in the checklists related to sampling method, setting for data collection, method of data collection, respondent validation of findings, method of recording data, description of the derivation of themes and inclusion of supporting quotations. We grouped all items into three domains: (i) research team and reflexivity, (ii) study design and (iii) data analysis and reporting. (see Tables 2–4 )
Within each domain we simplified all relevant items by removing duplicates and those that were ambiguous, too broadly defined, not specific to qualitative research, or impractical to assess. Where necessary, the remaining items were rephrased for clarity. Based upon consensus among the authors, two new items that were considered relevant for reporting qualitative research were added. The two new items were identifying the authors who conducted the interview or focus group and reporting the presence of non-participants during the interview or focus group. The COREQ checklist for explicit and comprehensive reporting of qualitative studies consists of 32 criteria, with a descriptor to supplement each item (Table 1 ).
Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies (COREQ): 32-item checklist
No . | Item . | Guide questions/description . |
---|---|---|
Personal Characteristics | ||
1. | Interviewer/facilitator | Which author/s conducted the interview or focus group? |
2. | Credentials | What were the researcher's credentials? |
3. | Occupation | What was their occupation at the time of the study? |
4. | Gender | Was the researcher male or female? |
5. | Experience and training | What experience or training did the researcher have? |
Relationship with participants | ||
6. | Relationship established | Was a relationship established prior to study commencement? |
7. | Participant knowledge of the interviewer | What did the participants know about the researcher? e |
8. | Interviewer characteristics | What characteristics were reported about the interviewer/facilitator? e.g. |
Theoretical framework | ||
9. | Methodological orientation and Theory | What methodological orientation was stated to underpin the study? |
Participant selection | ||
10. | Sampling | How were participants selected? |
11. | Method of approach | How were participants approached? e |
12. | Sample size | How many participants were in the study? |
13. | Non-participation | How many people refused to participate or dropped out? Reasons? |
Setting | ||
14. | Setting of data collection | Where was the data collected? e |
15. | Presence of non-participants | Was anyone else present besides the participants and researchers? |
16. | Description of sample | What are the important characteristics of the sample? |
Data collection | ||
17. | Interview guide | Were questions, prompts, guides provided by the authors? Was it pilot tested? |
18. | Repeat interviews | Were repeat interviews carried out? If yes, how many? |
19. | Audio/visual recording | Did the research use audio or visual recording to collect the data? |
20. | Field notes | Were field notes made during and/or after the interview or focus group? |
21. | Duration | What was the duration of the interviews or focus group? |
22. | Data saturation | Was data saturation discussed? |
23. | Transcripts returned | Were transcripts returned to participants for comment and/or correction? |
z | ||
Data analysis | ||
24. | Number of data coders | How many data coders coded the data? |
25. | Description of the coding tree | Did authors provide a description of the coding tree? |
26. | Derivation of themes | Were themes identified in advance or derived from the data? |
27. | Software | What software, if applicable, was used to manage the data? |
28. | Participant checking | Did participants provide feedback on the findings? |
Reporting | ||
29. | Quotations presented | Were participant quotations presented to illustrate the themes / findings? Was each quotation identified? e |
30. | Data and findings consistent | Was there consistency between the data presented and the findings? |
31. | Clarity of major themes | Were major themes clearly presented in the findings? |
32. | Clarity of minor themes | Is there a description of diverse cases or discussion of minor themes? |
No . | Item . | Guide questions/description . |
---|---|---|
Personal Characteristics | ||
1. | Interviewer/facilitator | Which author/s conducted the interview or focus group? |
2. | Credentials | What were the researcher's credentials? |
3. | Occupation | What was their occupation at the time of the study? |
4. | Gender | Was the researcher male or female? |
5. | Experience and training | What experience or training did the researcher have? |
Relationship with participants | ||
6. | Relationship established | Was a relationship established prior to study commencement? |
7. | Participant knowledge of the interviewer | What did the participants know about the researcher? e |
8. | Interviewer characteristics | What characteristics were reported about the interviewer/facilitator? e.g. |
Theoretical framework | ||
9. | Methodological orientation and Theory | What methodological orientation was stated to underpin the study? |
Participant selection | ||
10. | Sampling | How were participants selected? |
11. | Method of approach | How were participants approached? e |
12. | Sample size | How many participants were in the study? |
13. | Non-participation | How many people refused to participate or dropped out? Reasons? |
Setting | ||
14. | Setting of data collection | Where was the data collected? e |
15. | Presence of non-participants | Was anyone else present besides the participants and researchers? |
16. | Description of sample | What are the important characteristics of the sample? |
Data collection | ||
17. | Interview guide | Were questions, prompts, guides provided by the authors? Was it pilot tested? |
18. | Repeat interviews | Were repeat interviews carried out? If yes, how many? |
19. | Audio/visual recording | Did the research use audio or visual recording to collect the data? |
20. | Field notes | Were field notes made during and/or after the interview or focus group? |
21. | Duration | What was the duration of the interviews or focus group? |
22. | Data saturation | Was data saturation discussed? |
23. | Transcripts returned | Were transcripts returned to participants for comment and/or correction? |
z | ||
Data analysis | ||
24. | Number of data coders | How many data coders coded the data? |
25. | Description of the coding tree | Did authors provide a description of the coding tree? |
26. | Derivation of themes | Were themes identified in advance or derived from the data? |
27. | Software | What software, if applicable, was used to manage the data? |
28. | Participant checking | Did participants provide feedback on the findings? |
Reporting | ||
29. | Quotations presented | Were participant quotations presented to illustrate the themes / findings? Was each quotation identified? e |
30. | Data and findings consistent | Was there consistency between the data presented and the findings? |
31. | Clarity of major themes | Were major themes clearly presented in the findings? |
32. | Clarity of minor themes | Is there a description of diverse cases or discussion of minor themes? |
Items included in 22 published checklists: Research team and reflexivity domain
Item . | References . | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | BMJ . | |
Research team and reflexivity | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Nature of relationship between the researcher and participants | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||
Examination of role, bias, influence | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||
Description of role | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||
Identity of the interviewer | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||
Continued and prolonged engagement | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||
Response to events | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||
Prior assumptions and experience | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Professional status | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||||
Journal, record of personal experience | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||||
Effects of research on researcher | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||||
Qualifications | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||||
Training of the interviewer/facilitator | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||||
Expertise demonstrated | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||||
Perception of research at inception | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||||
Age | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Gender | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Social class | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Reasons for conducting study | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Sufficient contact | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Too close to participants | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Empathy | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance between researcher and participants | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Background | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Familiarity with setting | • |
Item . | References . | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | BMJ . | |
Research team and reflexivity | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Nature of relationship between the researcher and participants | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||
Examination of role, bias, influence | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||
Description of role | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||
Identity of the interviewer | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||
Continued and prolonged engagement | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||
Response to events | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||
Prior assumptions and experience | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Professional status | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||||
Journal, record of personal experience | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||||
Effects of research on researcher | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||||
Qualifications | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||||
Training of the interviewer/facilitator | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||||
Expertise demonstrated | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||||
Perception of research at inception | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||||
Age | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Gender | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Social class | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Reasons for conducting study | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Sufficient contact | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Too close to participants | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Empathy | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance between researcher and participants | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Background | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Familiarity with setting | • |
a Other publications, b Systematic review of qualitative studies; BMJ, British Medical Journal—editor's checklist for appraising qualitative research); •, item included in the checklist.
Items included in 22 published checklists: Study design
Item . | References . | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | BMJ . | |
Study design | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Methodological orientation, ontological or epistemological basis | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||
Sampling—convenience, purposive | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||
Setting | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||
Characteristics and description of sample | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||
Reasons for participant selection | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||
Non-participation | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Inclusion and exclusion, criteria | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Identity of the person responsible for recruitment | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Sample size | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||
Method of approach | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||||
Description of explanation of research to participants | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||||
Level and type of participation | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Method of data collection, e.g. focus group, in-depth interview | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||
Audio and visual recording | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||
Transcripts | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||
Setting and location | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||
Saturation of data | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||
Use of a topic guide, tools, questions | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||
Field notes | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||
Changes and modifications | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||
Duration of interview, focus group | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Sensitive to participant language and views | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||||
Number of interviews, focus groups | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||||
Time span | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Time and resources available to the study | • |
Item . | References . | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | BMJ . | |
Study design | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Methodological orientation, ontological or epistemological basis | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||
Sampling—convenience, purposive | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||
Setting | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||
Characteristics and description of sample | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||
Reasons for participant selection | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||
Non-participation | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Inclusion and exclusion, criteria | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Identity of the person responsible for recruitment | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Sample size | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||
Method of approach | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||||
Description of explanation of research to participants | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||||
Level and type of participation | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Method of data collection, e.g. focus group, in-depth interview | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||
Audio and visual recording | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||
Transcripts | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||
Setting and location | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||
Saturation of data | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||
Use of a topic guide, tools, questions | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||
Field notes | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||
Changes and modifications | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||
Duration of interview, focus group | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Sensitive to participant language and views | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||||
Number of interviews, focus groups | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||||
Time span | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Time and resources available to the study | • |
a Other publications, b Systematic review of qualitative studies; BMJ, British Medical Journal—editor's checklist for appraising qualitative research; •, item included in the checklist.
Items included in 22 published checklists: Analysis and reporting
Item . | References . | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | BMJ . | |
Respondent validation | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||
Limitations and generalizability | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||
Triangulation | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||
Original data, quotation | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||
Derivation of themes explicit | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||
Contradictory, diverse, negative cases | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||
Number of data analysts | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||
In-depth description of analysis | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||
Sufficient supporting data presented | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||
Data, interpretation and conclusions linked and integrated | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||
Retain context of data | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||
Explicit findings, presented clearly | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||
Outside checks | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Software used | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Discussion both for and against the researchers' arguments | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Development of theories, explanations | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Numerical data | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Coding tree or coding system | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Inter-observer reliability | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||||
Sufficient insight into meaning/perceptions of participants | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||||
Reasons for selection of data to support findings | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||||
New insight | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||||
Results interpreted in credible, innovative way | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Eliminate other theories | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Range of views | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distinguish between researcher and participant voices | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Proportion of data taken into account | • |
Item . | References . | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | [ ] . | BMJ . | |
Respondent validation | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||
Limitations and generalizability | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||
Triangulation | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||
Original data, quotation | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||
Derivation of themes explicit | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||
Contradictory, diverse, negative cases | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||
Number of data analysts | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||
In-depth description of analysis | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||
Sufficient supporting data presented | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||
Data, interpretation and conclusions linked and integrated | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||
Retain context of data | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||
Explicit findings, presented clearly | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||
Outside checks | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Software used | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Discussion both for and against the researchers' arguments | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Development of theories, explanations | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Numerical data | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Coding tree or coding system | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||
Inter-observer reliability | • | • | • | |||||||||||||||||||
Sufficient insight into meaning/perceptions of participants | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||||
Reasons for selection of data to support findings | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||||
New insight | • | • | ||||||||||||||||||||
Results interpreted in credible, innovative way | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Eliminate other theories | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Range of views | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distinguish between researcher and participant voices | • | |||||||||||||||||||||
Proportion of data taken into account | • |
a Other publications, b Systematic review of qualitative studies; BMJ, British Medical Journal—editor's checklist for appraising qualitative research, •, item included in the checklist.
(i) Personal characteristics: Qualitative researchers closely engage with the research process and participants and are therefore unable to completely avoid personal bias. Instead researchers should recognize and clarify for readers their identity, credentials, occupation, gender, experience and training. Subsequently this improves the credibility of the findings by giving readers the ability to assess how these factors might have influenced the researchers' observations and interpretations [ 13–15 ].
(ii) Relationship with participants: The relationship and extent of interaction between the researcher and their participants should be described as it can have an effect on the participants' responses and also on the researchers' understanding of the phenomena [ 16 ]. For example, a clinician–researcher may have a deep understanding of patients' issues but their involvement in patient care may inhibit frank discussion with patient–participants when patients believe that their responses will affect their treatment. For transparency, the investigator should identify and state their assumptions and personal interests in the research topic.
(i) Theoretical framework: Researchers should clarify the theoretical frameworks underpinning their study so readers can understand how the researchers explored their research questions and aims. Theoretical frameworks in qualitative research include: grounded theory, to build theories from the data; ethnography, to understand the culture of groups with shared characteristics; phenomenology, to describe the meaning and significance of experiences; discourse analysis, to analyse linguistic expression; and content analysis, to systematically organize data into a structured format [ 10 ].
(ii) Participant selection: Researchers should report how participants were selected. Usually purposive sampling is used which involves selecting participants who share particular characteristics and have the potential to provide rich, relevant and diverse data pertinent to the research question [ 13 , 17 ]. Convenience sampling is less optimal because it may fail to capture important perspectives from difficult-to-reach people [ 16 ]. Rigorous attempts to recruit participants and reasons for non-participation should be stated to reduce the likelihood of making unsupported statements [ 18 ]. Researchers should report the sample size of their study to enable readers to assess the diversity of perspectives included.
(iii) Setting: Researchers should describe the context in which the data were collected because it illuminates why participants responded in a particular way. For instance, participants might be more reserved and feel disempowered talking in a hospital setting. The presence of non-participants during interviews or focus groups should be reported as this can also affect the opinions expressed by participants. For example, parent interviewees might be reluctant to talk on sensitive topics if their children are present. Participant characteristics, such as basic demographic data, should be reported so readers can consider the relevance of the findings and interpretations to their own situation. This also allows readers to assess whether perspectives from different groups were explored and compared, such as patients and health care providers [ 13 , 19 ].
(iv) Data collection: The questions and prompts used in data collection should be provided to enhance the readers' understanding of the researcher's focus and to give readers the ability to assess whether participants were encouraged to openly convey their viewpoints. Researchers should also report whether repeat interviews were conducted as this can influence the rapport developed between the researcher and participants and affect the richness of data obtained. The method of recording the participants' words should be reported. Generally, audio recording and transcription more accurately reflect the participants' views than contemporaneous researcher notes, more so if participants checked their own transcript for accuracy [ 19–21 ]. Reasons for not audio recording should be provided. In addition, field notes maintain contextual details and non-verbal expressions for data analysis and interpretation [ 19 , 22 ]. Duration of the interview or focus group should be reported as this affects the amount of data obtained. Researchers should also clarify whether participants were recruited until no new relevant knowledge was being obtained from new participants (data saturation) [ 23 , 24 ].
(i) Data analysis: Specifying the use of multiple coders or other methods of researcher triangulation can indicate a broader and more complex understanding of the phenomenon. The credibility of the findings can be assessed if the process of coding (selecting significant sections from participant statements), and the derivation and identification of themes are made explicit. Descriptions of coding and memoing demonstrate how the researchers perceived, examined and developed their understanding of the data [ 17 , 19 ]. Researchers sometimes use software packages to assist with storage, searching and coding of qualitative data. In addition, obtaining feedback from participants on the research findings adds validity to the researcher's interpretations by ensuring that the participants' own meanings and perspectives are represented and not curtailed by the researchers' own agenda and knowledge [ 23 ].
(ii) Reporting: If supporting quotations are provided, researchers should include quotations from different participants to add transparency and trustworthiness to their findings and interpretations of the data [ 17 ]. Readers should be able to assess the consistency between the data presented and the study findings, including the both major and minor themes. Summary findings, interpretations and theories generated should be clearly presented in qualitative research publications.
The COREQ checklist was developed to promote explicit and comprehensive reporting of qualitative studies (interviews and focus groups). The checklist consists of items specific to reporting qualitative studies and precludes generic criteria that are applicable to all types of research reports. COREQ is a comprehensive checklist that covers necessary components of study design, which should be reported. The criteria included in the checklist can help researchers to report important aspects of the research team, study methods, context of the study, findings, analysis and interpretations.
At present, we acknowledge there is no empiric basis that shows that the introduction of COREQ will improve the quality of reporting of qualitative research. However this is no different than when CONSORT, QUOROM and other reporting checklists were introduced. Subsequent research has shown that these checklists have improved the quality of reporting of study types relevant to each checklist [ 5 , 25 ], and we believe that the effect of COREQ is likely to be similar. Despite differences in the objectives and methods of quantitative and qualitative methods, the underlying aim of transparency in research methods and, at the least, the theoretical possibility of the reader being able to duplicate the study methods should be the aims of both methodological approaches. There is a perception among research funding agencies, clinicians and policy makers, that qualitative research is ‘second class’ research. Initiatives like COREQ are designed to encourage improvement in the quality of reporting of qualitative studies, which will indirectly lead to improved conduct, and greater recognition of qualitative research as inherently equal scientific endeavor compared with quantitative research that is used to assess the quality and safety of health care. We invite readers to comment on COREQ to improve the checklist.
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Table of Contents | Supplemental Resources | Introduction (PDF)
Official source for APA Style The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition is the official source for APA Style.
Widely adopted With millions of copies sold worldwide in multiple languages, it is the style manual of choice for writers, researchers, editors, students, and educators in the social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences, nursing, communications, education, business, engineering, and other fields.
Authoritative and easy to use Known for its authoritative, easy-to-use reference and citation system, the Publication Manual also offers guidance on choosing the headings, tables, figures, language, and tone that will result in powerful, concise, and elegant scholarly communication.
Scholarly writing It guides users through the scholarly writing process—from the ethics of authorship to reporting research through publication.
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It is an indispensable resource for students and professionals to achieve excellence in writing and make an impact with their work.
Full color with first-ever tabbed version
Guidelines for ethical writing and guidance on the publication process
Expanded student-specific resources; includes a sample paper
100+ new reference examples, 40+ sample tables and figures
New chapter on journal article reporting standards
Updated bias-free language guidelines; includes usage of singular “they”
One space after end punctuation!
Full color All formats are in full color, including the new tabbed spiral-bound version.
Easy to navigate Improved ease of navigation, with many additional numbered sections to help users quickly locate answers to their questions.
Best practices The Publication Manual (7th ed.) has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect best practices in scholarly writing and publishing.
New student resources Resources for students on writing and formatting annotated bibliographies, response papers, and other paper types as well as guidelines on citing course materials.
Accessibility guidelines Guidelines that support accessibility for all users, including simplified reference, in-text citation, and heading formats as well as additional font options.
New-user content Dedicated chapter for new users of APA Style covering paper elements and format, including sample papers for both professional authors and student writers.
Journal Article Reporting Standards New chapter on journal article reporting standards that includes updates to reporting standards for quantitative research and the first-ever qualitative and mixed methods reporting standards in APA Style.
Bias-free language guidelines New chapter on bias-free language guidelines for writing about people with respect and inclusivity in areas including age, disability, gender, participation in research, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality
100+ reference examples More than 100 new reference examples covering periodicals, books, audiovisual media, social media, webpages and websites, and legal resources.
40+ new sample tables and figures More than 40 new sample tables and figures, including student-friendly examples such as a correlation table and a bar chart as well as examples that show how to reproduce a table or figure from another source.
Ethics expanded Expanded guidance on ethical writing and publishing practices, including how to ensure the appropriate level of citation, avoid plagiarism and self-plagiarism, and navigate the publication process.
List of Tables and Figures
Editorial Staff and Contributors
Acknowledgments
Introduction (PDF, 94KB)
Types of Articles and Papers
1.1 Quantitative Articles 1.2 Qualitative Articles 1.3 Mixed Methods Articles 1.4 Replication Articles 1.5 Quantitative and Qualitative Meta-Analyses 1.6 Literature Review Articles 1.7 Theoretical Articles 1.8 Methodological Articles 1.9 Other Types of Articles 1.10 Student Papers, Dissertations, and Theses
Ethical, legal, and professional standards in publishing
Ensuring the Accuracy of Scientific Findings
1.11 Planning for Ethical Compliance 1.12 Ethical and Accurate Reporting of Research Results 1.13 Errors, Corrections, and Retractions After Publication 1.14 Data Retention and Sharing 1.15 Additional Data-Sharing Considerations for Qualitative Research 1.16 Duplicate and Piecemeal Publication of Data 1.17 Implications of Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism
Protecting the Rights and Welfare of Research Participants and Subjects
1.18 Rights and Welfare of Research Participants and Subjects 1.19 Protecting Confidentiality 1.20 Conflict of Interest
Protecting Intellectual Property Rights
1.21 Publication Credit 1.22 Order of Authors 1.23 Authors’ Intellectual Property Rights During Manuscript Review 1.24 Authors’ Copyright on Unpublished Manuscripts 1.25 Ethical Compliance Checklist
Required Elements
2.1 Professional Paper Required Elements 2.2 Student Paper Required Elements
Paper Elements
2.3 Title Page 2.4 Title 2.5 Author Name (Byline) 2.6 Author Affiliation 2.7 Author Note 2.8 Running Head 2.9 Abstract 2.10 Keywords 2.11 Text (Body) 2.12 Reference List 2.13 Footnotes 2.14 Appendices 2.15 Supplemental Materials
2.16 Importance of Format 2.17 Order of Pages 2.18 Page Header 2.19 Font 2.20 Special Characters 2.21 Line Spacing 2.22 Margins 2.23 Paragraph Alignment 2.24 Paragraph Indentation 2.25 Paper Length
Organization
2.26 Principles of Organization 2.27 Heading Levels 2.28 Section Labels
Sample papers
Overview of Reporting Standards
3.1 Application of the Principles of JARS 3.2 Terminology Used in JARS
Common Reporting Standards Across Research Designs
3.3 Abstract Standards 3.4 Introduction Standards
Reporting Standards for Quantitative Research
3.5 Basic Expectations for Quantitative Research Reporting 3.6 Quantitative Method Standards 3.7 Quantitative Results Standards 3.8 Quantitative Discussion Standards 3.9 Additional Reporting Standards for Typical Experimental and Nonexperimental Studies 3.10 Reporting Standards for Special Designs 3.11 Standards for Analytic Approaches 3.12 Quantitative Meta-Analysis Standards
Reporting Standards for Qualitative Research
3.13 Basic Expectations for Qualitative Research Reporting 3.14 Qualitative Method Standards 3.15 Qualitative Findings or Results Standards 3.16 Qualitative Discussion Standards 3.17 Qualitative Meta-Analysis Standards
Reporting Standards for Mixed Methods Research
3.18 Basic Expectations for Mixed Methods Research Reporting
Effective scholarly writing
Continuity and Flow
4.1 Importance of Continuity and Flow 4.2 Transitions 4.3 Noun Strings
Conciseness and Clarity
4.4 Importance of Conciseness and Clarity 4.5 Wordiness and Redundancy 4.6 Sentence and Paragraph Length 4.7 Tone 4.8 Contractions and Colloquialisms 4.9 Jargon 4.10 Logical Comparisons 4.11 Anthropomorphism
Grammar and usage
4.12 Verb Tense 4.13 Active and Passive Voice 4.14 Mood 4.15 Subject and Verb Agreement
4.16 First- Versus Third-Person Pronouns 4.17 Editorial “We” 4.18 Singular “They” 4.19 Pronouns for People and Animals (“Who” vs. “That”) 4.20 Pronouns as Subjects and Objects (“Who” vs. “Whom”) 4.21 Pronouns in Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses (“That” vs. “Which”)
Sentence Construction
4.22 Subordinate Conjunctions 4.23 Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers 4.24 Parallel Construction
Strategies to Improve Your Writing
4.25 Reading to Learn Through Example 4.26 Writing From an Outline 4.27 Rereading the Draft 4.28 Seeking Help From Colleagues 4.29 Working With Copyeditors and Writing Centers 4.30 Revising a Paper
General Guidelines for Reducing Bias
5.1 Describe at the Appropriate Level of Specificity 5.2 Be Sensitive to Labels
Reducing Bias by Topic
5.3 Age 5.4 Disability 5.5 Gender 5.6 Participation in Research 5.7 Racial and Ethnic Identity 5.8 Sexual Orientation 5.9 Socioeconomic Status 5.10 Intersectionality
Punctuation
6.1 Spacing After Punctuation Marks 6.2 Period 6.3 Comma 6.4 Semicolon 6.5 Colon 6.6 Dash 6.7 Quotation Marks 6.8 Parentheses 6.9 Square Brackets 6.10 Slash
6.11 Preferred Spelling 6.12 Hyphenation
Capitalization
6.13 Words Beginning a Sentence 6.14 Proper Nouns and Trade Names 6.15 Job Titles and Positions 6.16 Diseases, Disorders, Therapies, Theories, and Related Terms 6.17 Titles of Works and Headings Within Works 6.18 Titles of Tests and Measures 6.19 Nouns Followed by Numerals or Letters 6.20 Names of Conditions or Groups in an Experiment 6.21 Names of Factors, Variables, and Effects
6.22 Use of Italics 6.23 Reverse Italics
Abbreviations
6.24 Use of Abbreviations 6.25 Definition of Abbreviations 6.26 Format of Abbreviations 6.27 Unit of Measurement Abbreviations 6.28 Time Abbreviations 6.29 Latin Abbreviations 6.30 Chemical Compound Abbreviations 6.31 Gene and Protein Name Abbreviations
6.32 Numbers Expressed in Numerals 6.33 Numbers Expressed in Words 6.34 Combining Numerals and Words to Express Numbers 6.35 Ordinal Numbers 6.36 Decimal Fractions 6.37 Roman Numerals 6.38 Commas in Numbers 6.39 Plurals of Numbers
Statistical and Mathematical Copy
6.40 Selecting Effective Presentation 6.41 References for Statistics 6.42 Formulas 6.43 Statistics in Text 6.44 Statistical Symbols and Abbreviations 6.45 Spacing, Alignment, and Punctuation for Statistics
Presentation of Equations
6.46 Equations in Text 6.47 Displayed Equations 6.48 Preparing Statistical and Mathematical Copy for Publication
6.49 List Guidelines 6.50 Lettered Lists 6.51 Numbered Lists 6.52 Bulleted Lists
General Guidelines for Tables and Figures
7.1 Purpose of Tables and Figures 7.2 Design and Preparation of Tables and Figures 7.3 Graphical Versus Textual Presentation 7.4 Formatting Tables and Figures 7.5 Referring to Tables and Figures in the Text 7.6 Placement of Tables and Figures 7.7 Reprinting or Adapting Tables and Figures
7.8 Principles of Table Construction 7.9 Table Components 7.10 Table Numbers 7.11 Table Titles 7.12 Table Headings 7.13 Table Body 7.14 Table Notes 7.15 Standard Abbreviations in Tables and Figures 7.16 Confidence Intervals in Tables 7.17 Table Borders and Shading 7.18 Long or Wide Tables 7.19 Relation Between Tables 7.20 Table Checklist 7.21 Sample Tables
Sample tables
7.22 Principles of Figure Construction 7.23 Figure Components 7.24 Figure Numbers 7.25 Figure Titles 7.26 Figure Images 7.27 Figure Legends 7.28 Figure Notes 7.29 Relation Between Figures 7.30 Photographs 7.31 Considerations for Electrophysiological, Radiological, Genetic, and Other Biological Data 7.32 Electrophysiological Data 7.33 Radiological (Imaging) Data 7.34 Genetic Data 7.35 Figure Checklist 7.36 Sample Figures
Sample figures
General Guidelines for Citation
8.1 Appropriate Level of Citation 8.2 Plagiarism 8.3 Self-Plagiarism 8.4 Correspondence Between Reference List and Text 8.5 Use of the Published Version or Archival Version 8.6 Primary and Secondary Sources
Works Requiring Special Approaches to Citation
8.7 Interviews 8.8 Classroom or Intranet Sources 8.9 Personal Communications
In-Text Citations
8.10 Author–Date Citation System 8.11 Parenthetical and Narrative Citations 8.12 Citing Multiple Works 8.13 Citing Specific Parts of a Source 8.14 Unknown or Anonymous Author 8.15 Translated, Reprinted, Republished, and Reissued Dates 8,16 Omitting the Year in Repeated Narrative Citations 8.17 Number of Authors to Include in In-Text Citations 8.18 Avoiding Ambiguity in In-Text Citations 8.19 Works With the Same Author and Same Date 8.20 Authors With the Same Surname 8.21 Abbreviating Group Authors 8.22 General Mentions of Websites, Periodicals, and Common Software and Apps
Paraphrases and Quotations
8.23 Principles of Paraphrasing 8.24 Long Paraphrases 8.25 Principles of Direct Quotation 8.26 Short Quotations (Fewer Than 40 Words) 8.27 Block Quotations (40 Words or More) 8.28 Direct Quotation of Material Without Page Numbers 8.29 Accuracy of Quotations 8.30 Changes to a Quotation Requiring No Explanation 8.31 Changes to a Quotation Requiring Explanation 8.32 Quotations That Contain Citations to Other Works 8.33 Quotations That Contain Material Already in Quotation Marks 8.34 Permission to Reprint or Adapt Lengthy Quotations 8.35 Epigraphs 8.36 Quotations From Research Participants
Reference Categories
9.1 Determining the Reference Category 9.2 Using the Webpages and Websites Reference Category 9.3 Online and Print References
Principles of Reference List Entries
9.4 Four Elements of a Reference 9.5 Punctuation Within Reference List Entries 9.6 Accuracy and Consistency in References
Reference elements
9.7 Definition of Author 9.8 Format of the Author Element 9.9 Spelling and Capitalization of Author Names 9.10 Identification of Specialized Roles 9.11 Group Authors 9.12 No Author
9.13 Definition of Date 9.14 Format of the Date Element 9.15 Updated or Reviewed Online Works 9.16 Retrieval Dates 9.17 No Date
9.18 Definition of Title 9.19 Format of the Title Element 9.20 Series and Multivolume Works 9.21 Bracketed Descriptions 9.22 No Title
9.23 Definition of Source 9.24 Format of the Source Element 9.25 Periodical Sources 9.26 Online Periodicals With Missing Information 9.27 Article Numbers 9.28 Edited Book Chapter and Reference Work Entry Sources 9.29 Publisher Sources 9.30 Database and Archive Sources 9.31 Works With Specific Locations 9.32 Social Media Sources 9.33 Website Sources 9.34 When to Include DOIs and URLs 9.35 Format of DOIs and URLs 9.36 DOI or URL Shorteners 9.37 No Source
Reference Variations
9.38 Works in Another Language 9.39 Translated Works 9.40 Reprinted Works 9.41 Republished or Reissued Works 9.42 Religious and Classical Works
Reference List Format and Order
9.43 Format of the Reference List 9.44 Order of Works in the Reference List 9.45 Order of Surname and Given Name 9.46 Order of Multiple Works by the Same First Author 9.47 Order of Works With the Same Author and Same Date 9.48 Order of Works by First Authors With the Same Surname 9.49 Order of Works With No Author or an Anonymous Author 9.50 Abbreviations in References 9.51 Annotated Bibliographies 9.52 References Included in a Meta-Analysis
Author Variations
Date Variations
Title Variations
Source Variations
Textual Works
10.1 Periodicals 10.2 Books and Reference Works 10.3 Edited Book Chapters and Entries in Reference Works 10.4 Reports and Gray Literature 10.5 Conference Sessions and Presentations 10.6 Dissertations and Theses 10.7 Reviews 10.8 Unpublished Works and Informally Published Works
Data Sets, Software, and Tests
10.9 Data Sets 10.10 Computer Software, Mobile Apps, Apparatuses, and Equipment 10.11 Tests, Scales, and Inventories
Audiovisual Media
10.12 Audiovisual Works 10.13 Audio Works 10.14 Visual Works
Online Media
10.15 Social Media 10.16 Webpages and Websites
General Guidelines for Legal References
11.1 APA Style References Versus Legal References 11.2 General Forms 11.3 In-Text Citations of Legal Materials
Legal Reference Examples
11.4 Cases or Court Decisions 11.5 Statutes (Laws and Acts) 11.6 Legislative Materials 11.7 Administrative and Executive Materials 11.8 Patents 11.9 Constitutions and Charters 11.10 Treaties and International Conventions
Preparing for Publication
12.1 Adapting a Dissertation or Thesis Into a Journal Article 12.2 Selecting a Journal for Publication 12.3 Prioritizing Potential Journals 12.4 Avoiding Predatory Journals
Understanding the Editorial Publication Process
12.5 Editorial Publication Process 12.6 Role of the Editors 12.7 Peer Review Process 12.8 Manuscript Decisions
Manuscript Preparation
12.9 Preparing the Manuscript for Submission 12.10 Using an Online Submission Portal 12.11 Writing a Cover Letter 12.12 Corresponding During Publication 12.13 Certifying Ethical Requirements
Copyright and Permission Guidelines
12.14 General Guidelines for Reprinting or Adapting Materials 12.15 Materials That Require Copyright Attribution 12.16 Copyright Status 12.17 Permission and Fair Use 12.18 Copyright Attribution Formats
During and After Publication
12.19 Article Proofs 12.20 Published Article Copyright Policies 12.21 Open Access Deposit Policies 12.22 Writing a Correction Notice 12.23 Sharing Your Article Online 12.24 Promoting Your Article
Credits for Adapted Tables, Figures, and Papers
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Study Objectives/Aims/Research Goals • State the purpose(s)/goal(s)/aim(s) of the study. • Qualitative studies tend not to identify hypotheses, but research questions and goals. METHOD Research Design Overview • Summarize the research design (data-collection strategies, data-analytic strategies) and, if illuminating, approaches to inquiry
A checklist of items that should be included in reports of qualitative research. You must report the page number in your manuscript where you consider each of the items listed in this checklist. If you have not included this information, either revise your manuscript accordingly before submitting or note N/A. Topic. Item No.
We have developed a formal reporting checklist for in-depth interviews and focus groups, the most common methods for data collection in qualitative health research. Address reprint requests to: Allison Tong, Centre for Kidney Research, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia. Tel: þ61-2-9845-1482; Fax: þ61-2-9845-1491; E ...
makes for good qualitative research'' (Tracy, 2010, p. 837) To decide what represents good qualitative research is highly debatable. There are numerous methods that are contained within qualitative research and that are estab-lished on diverse philosophical perspectives. Bryman et al., (2008, p. 262) suggest that ''It is widely assumed that
However, for many research projects, there are different sorts of questions that need answering, some requiring quantitative methods, and some requiring qualitative methods. If the question is a qualitative one, then the most appropriate and rigorous way of answering it is to use qualitative methods. For instance, if you
RESEARCH METHODS AND REPORTING the bmj | BMJ 2021;372:n71 | doi: 10.1136/bmj.n71 1 The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews Matthew J Page,1 Joanne E McKenzie,1 Patrick M Bossuyt,2 Isabelle Boutron,3 ammT Cy Hoffmann, 4 Cynthia D Mulrow,5 Larissa Shamseer, 6 Jennifer M Tetzlaff,7 Elie A Akl,8 Sue E Brennan,1 Roger Chou,9 Julie Glanville,10 Jeremy M ...
qualitative research is influenced by the purpose of a research project and the research traditions in use. For instance, constructivist authors writing up a participatory action ... follow the outline in the JARS-Qual guidelines or are combined, the information related to each element should be reported in the paper. The third column contains
bility to accommodate various paradigms, approaches, and methods. Method The authors identified guidelines, reporting standards, and critical appraisal criteria for qualitative research by searching PubMed, Web of Science, and Google through July 2013; reviewing the reference lists of retrieved sources; and contacting experts. Specifically, two authors reviewed a sample of sources to generate ...
Abstract. The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research, second edition, presents a comprehensive retrospective and prospective review of the field of qualitative research. Original, accessible chapters written by interdisciplinary leaders in the field make this a critical reference work. Filled with robust examples from real-world research ...
Purpose or research question - Purpose of the study and specific objectives or questions Methods Qualitative approach and research paradigm - Qualitative approach (e.g., ethnography, grounded theory, case study, phenomenology, narrative research) and guiding theory if appropriate; identifying the research paradigm (e.g.,
Section 1.1: What are the are the main strengths & advantages of qualitative research? Qualitative research uses open -ended questions and probing, which gives participants the opportunity to respond in their own words, rather than forcing them to choose from fixed responses, as quantitative methods do.
The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Studies (COREQ) covers the reporting of studies using interviews and focus groups. It is the only reporting guidance for qualitative research to have received other than isolated endorsement although it applies to only a few of the many qualitative methods in use.
While many books and articles guide various qualitative research methods and analyses, there is currently no concise resource that explains and differentiates among the most common qualitative approaches. We believe novice qualitative researchers, students planning the design of a qualitative study or taking an introductory qualitative research course, and faculty teaching such courses can ...
Standards. Qualitative research methods involve the systematic collection, organisation, and interpretation of textual material derived from talk or observation. It is used in the exploration of meanings of social phenomena as experienced by individuals themselves, in their natural context.2-5 Qualitative research is still regarded with ...
JARS-Qual, developed in 2018, mark the first time APA Style has included qualitative standards. They outline what should be reported in qualitative research manuscripts to make the review process easier. The seventh edition of the Publication Manual also includes content on qualitative studies, including standards for journal article ...
definition offered by Nkwi, Nyamongo, and Ryan (2001, p. 1): "Qualitative research involves any research that uses data that do not indicate ordinal values." For these authors, the defining criterion is the type of data generated and/or used. In short, qualitative research involves collecting and/or working with text, images, or sounds.
The SRQR aims to improve the transparency of all aspects of qualitative research by providing clear standards for reporting qualitative research. 3. **The rationale should briefly discuss the justification for choosing that theory, approach, method, or technique rather than other options available, the assumptions and limitations implicit in ...
Search for reporting guidelines. Use your browser's Back button to return to your search results. Standards for reporting qualitative research: a synthesis of recommendations ... Reed DA, Cook DA. Standards for reporting qualitative research: a synthesis of recommendations. Acad Med. 2014;89(9):1245-1251. Language: English: PubMed ID: 24979285 ...
Qualitative research interviews and focus groups: Full bibliographic reference: Tong A, Sainsbury P, Craig J. Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): a 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups. Int J Qual Health Care. 2007;19(6):349-357. Language: English: PubMed ID: 17872937: Relevant URLs (full-text if ...
Fundamental Criteria: General Research Quality. Various researchers have put forward criteria for evaluating qualitative research, which have been summarized in Table 3.Also, the criteria outlined in Table 4 effectively deliver the various approaches to evaluate and assess the quality of qualitative work. The entries in Table 4 are based on Tracy's "Eight big‐tent criteria for excellent ...
Abstract. Qualitative research is a fundamental approach f or exploring complex phenomena, un derstanding. human behavior, and uncovering deep insights that quantitative methods may overlook. This ...
We performed a comprehensive search for published checklists used to assess or review qualitative studies, and guidelines for reporting qualitative studies in: Medline (1966—Week 1 April 2006), CINAHL (1982—Week 3 April 2006), Cochrane and Campbell protocols, systematic reviews of qualitative studies, author or reviewer guidelines of major ...
Method: The authors identified guidelines, reporting standards, and critical appraisal criteria for qualitative research by searching PubMed, Web of Science, and Google through July 2013 ...
PDF | Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to give ideas and suggestions to avoid some typical problems of qualitative articles. ... Qualitative research articles: Guidelines, suggestions and ...
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition is the official source for APA Style. Widely adopted. With millions of copies sold worldwide in multiple languages, it is the style manual of choice for writers, researchers, editors, students, and educators in the social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences ...
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