Transcendent Criteria for Trustworthiness

Criterion	Description
Social validity*	Research goals are socially significant; data collection/analysis procedures are appropriate; the effects of the study results are important
Subjectivity and reflexivity	Researchers embrace their positioning as co-constructors of meaning and engage in reflexivity by keeping an ongoing record of “experiences, reactions, and … assumptions or biases”18(p.254) to inform the analysis process and/or critical discussion with peer researchers and participants regarding correction, direction, and feedback on interpretations of findings†
Adequacy of data	Various types/sources of information are used; sufficient time is spent in the setting to build rapport; evidence is gathered until no new or disconfirming evidence emerges
Adequacy of interpretation	Analytic framework is well articulated; researchers' interpretations of the findings and supporting quotations are balanced; interpretations describing how data were integrated are clear and insightful

^*This criterion draws on the work of Wolf (1978).¹⁹

^†According to Morrow,¹⁷ this step is especially important when the interviewer is very familiar with, or an insider to, the culture or phenomenon studied.