The article reviews and synthesizes published criteria for good qualitative research in healthcare, aiming to develop a set of evaluative criteria. The authors identified 29 journal articles and 16 books or book chapters that offered explicit criteria for evaluating qualitative research. Seven criteria emerged: ethical research, importance of the research, clarity and coherence of the research report, appropriate and rigorous methods, reflexivity or attention to researcher bias, establishing validity or credibility, and verification or reliability. While there was general agreement on the first four criteria, divergent perspectives were observed on the last three, particularly regarding researcher bias, validity, and reliability. These differences were rooted in paradigm debates about the nature of knowledge and reality. The authors conclude that qualitative research is not a unified field, and most reviewers are not qualitative experts, likely embracing generic criteria rather than those specific to the approach used. They emphasize the need for reviewers and researchers to be aware of this tendency and educate healthcare researchers about appropriate criteria for evaluating qualitative research within their theoretical and methodological framework.The article reviews and synthesizes published criteria for good qualitative research in healthcare, aiming to develop a set of evaluative criteria. The authors identified 29 journal articles and 16 books or book chapters that offered explicit criteria for evaluating qualitative research. Seven criteria emerged: ethical research, importance of the research, clarity and coherence of the research report, appropriate and rigorous methods, reflexivity or attention to researcher bias, establishing validity or credibility, and verification or reliability. While there was general agreement on the first four criteria, divergent perspectives were observed on the last three, particularly regarding researcher bias, validity, and reliability. These differences were rooted in paradigm debates about the nature of knowledge and reality. The authors conclude that qualitative research is not a unified field, and most reviewers are not qualitative experts, likely embracing generic criteria rather than those specific to the approach used. They emphasize the need for reviewers and researchers to be aware of this tendency and educate healthcare researchers about appropriate criteria for evaluating qualitative research within their theoretical and methodological framework.