Table 2.

Application of qualitative rigour (Lincoln and Guba, 1985).

Criterion	Application
Credibility	Research team members experienced in and trained in qualitative research. The use of reflexive journaling and debriefing with the research team promote critical evaluation and reflection on data collection and analysis. Prolonged engagement between the researcher and research participants, building trust and enhancing engagement with interviewees. Recording and verbatim transcription of interviews.
Dependability	Transparent reporting of study protocol enables assessment of the research process and future replications of the study. Member checking of interview transcripts and cross-sectional results at each timepoint to support validation of transcripts and study results, promoting more in-depth discussion of cross-sectional findings at subsequent timepoints. Systematic audit trail maintained in NVivo using coding, memo and annotation functions to detail decisions relating to analysis.
Transferability	Ecological validation is facilitated at each timepoint, with a description of the social, political and epidemiological contexts of COVID-19 in the Irish context at each of the interview timepoints. Use of participant quotations to illustrate and support analysis and interpretation of the data. Relating findings of the study to existing literature and meta-analysis of results from concurrent cross-sectional studies conducted in Europe and North America.
Confirmability	Use of reflexive journaling to explore the influence of the researcher at each step of the research process. Rigorous review of the interview transcripts and analysis according to the Braun and Clarke (2006) Thematic Analysis Framework. Systematic audit trail maintained in NVivo using coding, memo and annotation functions to detail decisions relating to analysis.