In qualitative research, saturation , is often used to confirm the representativeness of the sample size. In clinical outcome assessment (COA) development, this is defined as the point at which “collecting additional data will not likely add to the understanding of how patients perceive the concept of interest and the items in the questionnaire”. Thematic analysis (TA) is one of the most common qualitative methods used in COA studies. However, saturation is not always recommended with TA (Braun & Clarke, 2019). To ensure the implementation of rigorous methods, a better understanding of the use of saturation in COA studies is needed. The aim of this overview is to understand the use and reporting of saturation in COA studies.
