title: Notions of quality and standards for qualitative research reporting.
abstract: The utility of qualitative research findings in the health sciences has been the subject of considerable debate, particularly with the advent of qualitative systematic reviews in recent years. There has been a significant investment in the production of guidance to improve the reporting of quantitative research; however, comparatively little time has been spent on developing the same for qualitative research reporting. This paper sets out to examine the possibility of developing a framework for refereed journals to utilize when guiding authors on how to report the results of qualitative studies in the hope that this will improve the quality of reports and subsequently their inclusion in qualitative syntheses and guidelines to inform practice at the point of care.
authors.affiliation: The Joanna Briggs Institute, School of Translational Health Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.affiliation: The Joanna Briggs Institute, School of Translational Health Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Zoe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jordan
authors.affiliation: The Joanna Briggs Institute, School of Translational Health Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lockwood
authors.affiliation: The Joanna Briggs Institute, School of Translational Health Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Ed
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aromataris
mesh_terms: D000068598:Data Accuracy; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012015:Reference Standards; D012107:Research Design
keywords: evidence-based health; qualitative research; quality; reporting; standards