Table 1.

Five verification strategies for attaining reliability and validity in qualitative research³⁹

Verification strategy	Explanation	How or where demonstrated in the current study
Methodological coherence	Ensuring congruence between research question and methods	Background (Stress Process Model) Methods (design/sampling, ie, community-based sample; data collection, ie, individual and dyadic interviews in order to gain both shared and individual perspectives; data analysis, ie, qualitative approach for study of little-known topic)
Appropriate sampling	Participants who best represent or have knowledge of the research topic	Methods (design/sampling, ie, community-based sample; data collection, ie, individual and dyadic interviews in order to gain both shared and individual perspectives; broad range of disease severity)
Collecting and analysing data concurrently	Establishing an iterative interaction between what is known and what one needs to know	Methods: moving between data collection and data analysis, including: memo-writing (keeping an ongoing log of analytical thoughts and ideas) amendments to interview schedule (adding questions/prompts to further explore emerging areas of interest, eg, role changes) field notes (written together by the two interviewing authors—MPS and RW or RW and EH—immediately after the interview to document initial responses and reflections on the data collected)
Thinking theoretically	Constant, cyclical process of checking that emerging ideas are reconfirmed in new data	Methods: moving between data collection and data analysis, including: memo-writing (keeping an ongoing log of analytical thoughts and ideas) amendments to interview schedule (adding questions/prompts to further explore emerging areas of interest, eg, role changes) field notes (written together by the two interviewing authors—MPS and RW or RW and EH—immediately after the interview to document initial responses and reflections on the data collected)
Theory development	Moving between microperspective to macroconceptual/theoretical understanding	Results (major and subthemes, supporting quotes and explanatory commentary) Discussion (compatibility with existing literature, eg, empirical—relationship impact and theoretical—utility of the Stress Process Model; research and clinical practice implications; suggestions for future work, eg, other rare dementia populations)