The quality of qualitative research in family planning and reproductive health care

In recent years the value of using qualitative methods in health and social care research has become widely acknowledged.1,2 This paper explores how we can assess the ‘quality’ of qualitative research. It is the second of three papers examining the use of qualitative research in family planning and reproductive health care. Our first paper described the three main methods that are generally used in
qualitative studies.3 This paper begins with a discussion about when to use qualitative methods followed by a consideration of some general issues that arise throughout the process of qualitative data collection and analysis. The paper ends by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research methods.