These are: truth-value (credibility) applicability (transferability) consistency (dependability) and neutrality (confirmability). This article will look in more detail at the unique components of qualitative research in relation to qualitative rigor.

As a nurse, you want to build your practice on the best evidence you can and to do so you need to have confidence in those research findings. It also provides an accurate representation of the population studied. It allows the researcher to establish consistency in the methods used over time. Rigor, in qualitative terms, is a way to establish trust or confidence in the findings of a research study. However, it also happens to be one of the most critical aspects of qualitative research, so it’s important that we all start getting to grips with what it means. From novices to experienced qualitative researchers, qualitative rigor is a concept that can be challenging. And it seems that many of us fall into the latter of those two categories.

It’s one of those terms you either understand or you don’t. It is sometimes difficult to derive viable insights from qualitative research but in the article below, the authors identify three criteria for developing acceptable qualitative studies. Advances in technology have made quantitative data more accessible than ever before but in the human-centric discipline of nursing, qualitative research still brings vital learnings to the health care industry.

Reliability in qualitative research