What is the primary focus of scrutiny when assessing the quality of qualitative research?

The primary focus of scrutiny when assessing the quality of qualitative research revolves around subjective experiences and interpretations. Qualitative research aims to gather in-depth insights into human behaviors, beliefs, and feelings, which are inherently subjective. This means that the validity and reliability of qualitative studies depend significantly on how the researchers interpret participants' experiences and the context in which these experiences are situated.

Assessing qualitative research involves evaluating how well the researcher has captured and represented these subjective experiences, including the richness and depth of the data. It also considers the methodologies used to gather and analyze this data, such as interviews, focus groups, or observations, emphasizing the importance of understanding the context and the meanings that participants attach to their experiences. Therefore, the quality of qualitative research is often judged based on how effectively it conveys these subjective insights rather than relying solely on quantifiable metrics such as sample size or statistical significance.

In contrast, aspects like sample size and statistical significance are more relevant to quantitative research, while generalizability and cost considerations are typically secondary in qualitative contexts, where the goal is to explore and understand rather than generalize findings to a broader population or make cost assessments a primary concern.