Structured audit trail for making the rigor in qualitative research explicit: a methodological tutorial

As an answer to the question of what open science principles could look like in qualitative research, this methodological tutorial introduces a structured audit trail format tailored to the specific needs of qualitative research. While open science practices have become increasingly common in quantitative research, their application in qualitative research remains complex due to the interpretive, iterative, and sensitive nature of qualitative inquiry. This tutorial addresses these challenges by offering a format for audit trailing enabling researchers to make the research process open. The format is grounded in key concepts such as transparency, reproducibility, traceability, auditability, reflexivity, and positionality. Supplementary materials, including guiding questions and a blank template, are provided to support implementation. A pilot application illustrates how the audit trail offers a feasible pathway for integrating open science practices into qualitative research while safeguarding participant confidentiality.