The Phenomenological Research Quality Indicator (PRQI): A Framework for Appraising Philosophical and Methodological Integrity in Phenomenological Studies

Phenomenological research offers distinctive insights into lived experience, yet its appraisal within qualitative evidence syntheses is often constrained by generic tools that privilege procedural transparency over philosophical and methodological integrity. Instruments such as CASP, JBI, and MMAT remain valuable across qualitative traditions, but risk obscuring the epistemological and ontological commitments central to phenomenology. In response, this paper introduces the Phenomenological Research Quality Indicator (PRQI), a reflexive six-dimensional framework that enables phenomenological studies to be appraised on their own terms while ensuring transparency and credibility for interdisciplinary audiences. The PRQI pays attention to philosophical grounding, methodological clarity, use of phenomenological processes, fidelity to the lifeworld, researcher reflexivity, and evocative representation. Developed through sustained engagement with phenomenological scholarship and applied to 25 empirical studies of young people’s experiences in physical education and sport, the PRQI aims to move beyond checklist compliance toward dialogical assessment that honours interpretive nuance. By making visible otherwise tacit dimensions of phenomenological rigour, the PRQI advances methodological coherence, enhances reflexivity, and strengthens the credibility of qualitative evidence syntheses that inform clinical guidelines, educational reform, and policy development. It also functions as a globally transferable pedagogical resource, supporting doctoral education, postgraduate training, and peer-review of qualitative phenomenological research manuscripts. In advancing a philosophically grounded yet accessible approach to appraisal, the PRQI contributes a world-leading methodological innovation that not only safeguards phenomenology’s integrity but also expands the global methodological repertoire available to qualitative researchers across disciplines.