We conducted a systematic search of qualitative research into the individual’s experience of chronic low back pain. Two reviewers independently read through 740 unique abstracts. Inter-rater reliability was fair. The final sample comprised 19 articles which we critiqued using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist. This article focuses on the critical appraisal. Limitations include a lack of an adequate rationale for the theoretical framework, a lack of an account for the decisions made across recruitment and data collection, and a lack of reflexivity. Finally we discuss and offer recommendations for reflexivity and the explication of qualitative methodology in research articles.
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