Where is the interpretation?: important considerations for the philosophical and disciplinary lens in qualitative health research

Qualitative research is an important research methodology. Using a diverse array of data collection methods and analytical approaches that are distinct, qualitative research allows researchers to gain a rich and in-depth understanding about the individual, contextualized experiences of phenomena of interest. The increasing use of qualitative research is evident in health care disciplines. For example, the number of qualitative research publications in health care databases such as CINAHL, has increased by more than 12 folds over the past two decades (Lee & Thorne, 2022), with the benefits of qualitative research in health care well documented in the literature (Green & Britten, 1998; Holloway & Galvin, 2016). However, there are several issues that have accompanied this rise in popularity. Editors are noticing a disheartening trend in the quality of qualitative research articles being submitted to journals, particularly in qualitative analysis. This is despite the many already-published papers demonstrating question- able qualitative research rigor, even those published in reputable journals. As executive committee members of the Asia-Pacific Qualitative Health Research Network (AQUHN) and editors of health care journals, we will elaborate on these issues in qualitative analysis in this editorial. In addition, we will discuss ways to enhance knowledge and usage of qualitative research methodology as a novice researcher.