Qualitative Research Rigour in Intercultural Context

To improve rigour the first author maintained a reflexive journal and audit trail, documenting the research process and reflecting on potential sources of bias, especially as a foreigner to the local context (Annink 2017 (link); Resch & Enzenhofer 2018 ). The authors were guided by Ethiopian colleagues’ recommendations, particularly author S.D., in relation to data collection and analysis to ensure cultural sensitivity and feasibility. Throughout the interviews the interviewer clarified comments that were unclear; however, they did not conduct member checks with participants after analysis, because of time and budget constraints and recognising that member checking is not always appropriate or necessary for all qualitative research (Motulsky 2021 (link)). During data analysis, the authors used triangulation, where two authors independently coded several transcripts before discussing the findings to promote ideas and incorporate different perspectives. All authors discussed and provided feedback on the findings and written report.