Table 3 Future research agenda for the GRADE-CERQual approach

• Refine the criteria that need to be met for authors to claim fidelity to the GRADE-CERQual approach, drawing on the assessment criteria used in this evaluation

• Develop reporting criteria for the use of GRADE-CERQual in qualitative evidence syntheses, drawing on the reporting assessment criteria used in this evaluation

• Clarify guidance on the types of analytic outputs, or findings, from a qualitative evidence synthesis to which GRADE-CERQual should be applied, including in the context of a meta-ethnography

• Improve the guidance on applying each GRADE-CERQual component, focusing on: (1) helping authors to conceptually navigate the boundary between considering concerns at the individual study level and assessing the importance of these concerns at the review finding level; (2) navigating the conceptual boundaries between components

• Develop more detailed guidance on how to bring together GRADE-CERQual component assessments to make an overall assessment of confidence, while avoiding quantification of individual component assessments

• Evaluate the impact of the new GRADE-CERQual interactive Summary of Qualitative Findings (iSoQ) tool on the completeness and consistency of reporting of GRADE-CERQual assessments, including explanations of these, and on the presentation of Summary of Qualitative Findings and Evidence Profile tables