Issues are raised by the persistent concern with achieving rigor in qu
alitative research, including the rigidity that often characterizes th
e search for validity in qualitative work and the threat to validity t
hat the search for reliability may pose. Member validation is highligh
ted as a technique that exemplifies not only the practical, but also t
he profoundly theoretical, representational, and even moral problems r
aised by all procedures aimed at ensuring the trustworthiness of quali
tative work. Key words: qualitative research, reliability, rigor, vali
dity