Table 2 Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies (COREQ): 32-item checklist
No. item | Guide questions/description | Reported on page # |
|---|---|---|
Domain 1: research team and reflexivity | ||
Personal characteristics | ||
1. Interviewer/facilitator | Which author/s conducted the interview or focus group? | Results |
2. Credentials | What were the researcher’s credentials? E.g., PhD, MD | Methods |
3. Occupation | What was their occupation at the time of the study? | Methods |
4. Gender | Was the researcher male or female? | N/A |
5. Experience and training | What experience or training did the researcher have? | Methods |
Relationship with participants | ||
6. Relationship established | Was a relationship established prior to study commencement? | N/A |
7. Participant knowledge of the interviewer | What did the participants know about the researcher? e.g., personal goals, reasons for doing the research | N/A |
8. Interviewer characteristics | What characteristics were reported about the interviewer/facilitator? e.g., Bias, assumptions, reasons and interests in the research topic | Methods |
Domain 2: study design | ||
Theoretical framework | ||
9. Methodological orientation and Theory | What methodological orientation was stated to underpin the study? e.g., grounded theory, discourse analysis, ethnography, phenomenology, content analysis | Methods |
Participant selection | ||
10. Sampling | How were participants selected? e.g., purposive, convenience, consecutive, snowball | Methods |
11. Method of approach | How were participants approached? e.g., face-to-face, telephone, mail, email | Methods |
12. Sample size | How many participants were in the study? | Results |
13. Non-participation | How many people refused to participate or dropped out? Reasons? | Methods |
Setting | ||
14. Setting of data collection | Where was the data collected? e.g., home, clinic, workplace | Methods |
15. Presence of non-participants | Was anyone else present besides the participants and researchers? | Results |
16. Description of sample | What are the important characteristics of the sample? e.g., demographic data, date | Results |
Data collection | ||
17. Interview guide | Were questions, prompts, guides provided by the authors? Was it pilot tested? | Methods |
18. Repeat interviews | Were repeat interviews carried out? If yes, how many? | N/A |
19. Audio/visual recording | Did the research use audio or visual recording to collect the data? | Methods |
20. Field notes | Were field notes made during and/or after the interview or focus group? | Methods |
21. Duration | What was the duration of the interviews or focus group? | Methods |
22. Data saturation | Was data saturation discussed? | Methods |
23. Transcripts returned | Were transcripts returned to participants for comment and/or correction? | N/A |
Domain 3: analysis and findings | ||
Data analysis | ||
24. Number of data coders | How many data coders coded the data? | Methods |
25. Description of the coding tree | Did authors provide a description of the coding tree? | N/A |
26. Derivation of themes | Were themes identified in advance or derived from the data? | Methods |
27. Software | What software, if applicable, was used to manage the data? | Dedoose |
28. Participant checking | Did participants provide feedback on the findings? | Strengths and limitations |
Reporting | ||
29. Quotations presented | Were participant quotations presented to illustrate the themes/findings? Was each quotation identified? e.g., participant number | Results |
30. Data and findings consistent | Was there consistency between the data presented and the findings? | Relationship to existing knowledge |
31. Clarity of major themes | Were major themes clearly presented in the findings? | Results |
32. Clarity of minor themes | Is there a description of diverse cases or discussion of minor themes? | Discussion |