Recognizability: a strategy for assessing external validity and for facilitating knowledge transfer in qualitative research.

In this article, we argue in favor of quality assessment for qualitative studies and propose using a strategy we have labeled recognizability to assess external validity and facilitate knowledge transfer. To test our idea, we gathered data about recognizability in relation to a specific study on facial disfigurement. Four categories were identified: full recognition; partial recognition; recognition in others; and no recognition. In this article, we show how we used these categories both to evaluate the quality of our study and to assess its external validity. We also discuss the implications of recognizability for knowledge transfer.