ABSTRACT
The emergence of new interpretive criteria follows from the erasure of binaries and the blurring of genres. Traditionalists distinguish two levels of quality: first, the quality of the research, and second, the standards exemplified in the research report. In Hamersley's framework, the significance of research findings involves the traditional topics of: validity, credibility of evidence, empirical generalizations, causality, theory, relevance of the topic. Traditionalists insist on epistemic terms as the only criteria for assessing quality. John H. Stanfield prefers restorative inquiry projects where everyone—researcher and researched—experiences healing, social justice, and social transformation. Kathy Charmaz extends Stanfield's theme of using grounded theory for social justice studies and builds on Christians' criterion of interpretive sufficiency. She has four criteria: credibility, originality, resonance, and usefulness. Original work challenges existing understandings and arguments, and offers new insights. Resonance asks how well the work connects to the worlds of lived experience.
