Validity in qualitative research

Much contemporary dialogue has centered on the difficulty of establishing v alidity criteria in qualitative research. Developing validity standards in qualitative research is challenging because of the necessity to incorporate rigor and subjectivity as well as creativity into the scientific process. This article explores the extant issues related to the science and art of q ualitative research and proposes a synthesis of contemporary viewpoints. A distinction between primary and secondary validity criteria in qualitative research is made with credibility, authenticity, criticality, and integrity identified as primary validity criteria and explicitness, vividness, creat ivity, thoroughness, congruence, and sensitivity identified as secondary va lidity criteria.