Capstone project rigor

Rigor can be defined as following a systematic, logical, and thorough methodological approach to design and implementation that is based in theory, addresses a problem, and includes outcome measures to evaluate the effectiveness, validity, and reliability of the project (Gill & Gill, 2020; Roush & Tesoro, 2018). Rigor plays a critical role in scholarship by enabling occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) to evaluate the quality, trustworthiness, and value of scholarly works. Occupational therapy doctoral (OTD) capstones have two opportunities to establish rigor: the process and the project. Rigor in the capstone process has been well established (DeIuliis & Bednarski, 2019; Jirikowic et al., 2015; Kaldenberg & Delbert, 2024). However, there is limited consensus regarding the level of rigor required for the capstone projects (Kaldenberg & Delbert, 2024; Moyers & Quint, 2025) .