Validation in Qualitative Research: General Aspects and Specificities of the Descriptive Phenomenological Method

The criteria for the validation of qualitative research are still open to discussion. This article has two aims: first, to present a summary of concepts, emerging from the field of qualitative research that present answers regarding issues of validation, reliability, and generalization; and second, to propose six concepts that allow the monitoring of the validation of phenomenological research within the context of qualitative research in psychology—intentionality, psychological phenomenological reduction, eidetic psychological analysis, syntheses of identification, phenomenon versus individual, and invariant structures. It is argued that there are general criteria that qualitative methods must meet, and specific methodological criteria to monitor the quality control. A final definition is proposed, to delimit the validation, reliability, and generalization of the phenomenological research results.