We suggest that by focusing on strategies to establish trustworthiness (Guba and Lincoln’s 1981 term for rigor1) at the end of the study, rather than focusing on processes verification during the study, the investigator runs the risk of missing serious threats to the reliability and validity until it is too late to correct them. (3-4)
The purpose of this article is to reestablish reliability and validity as appropriate to qualitative inquiry; to identify the problems created by post hoc assessments of qualitative research; to review general verification strategies in relation to qualitative research, and to discuss the implications of returning the responsibility for the attainment of reliability and validity to the investigator. (4)
http://www.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/backissues/1_2Final/pdf/morseetal.pdf