Peer Debriefing In Qualitative Research

Peer debriefing is a process in qualitative research where researchers engage with colleagues or experts to review interpretations and minimize personal biases.

The goal of peer debriefing is to enhance the trustworthiness of the research.

Lincoln and Guba (1985) used trustworthiness as an umbrella term covering credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability together. Peer debriefing targets this directly.

During the peer debriefing process, researchers can get feedback and test their insights by exposing their thinking to other professionals who may ask challenging questions.

Researchers can use their journals and field notes to document peer debriefing sessions.

The documentation should reflect any changes in the research based on critiques from peers.

Who can I choose for peer debriefing?

When choosing a peer debriefer, you should select someone knowledgeable about qualitative research methods and familiar with your research topic but not directly involved in the research.

The debriefer should be able to provide objective feedback.

They should also be able to challenge your assumptions and help you to see your research from different perspectives.

Here are some potential peer debriefers to consider:

• Colleagues: You could choose colleagues from your department or other departments who are experienced in qualitative research.
• Experts in your research topic: You might also consider experts in your research topic, even if they are not qualitative researchers. These experts could offer insights into the significance of your findings.
• Members of your dissertation committee: If you are a student, your dissertation committee supervisors can serve as peer debriefers.

When choosing a debriefer, it is important to consider their availability throughout the research process. You should meet regularly with your debriefer to discuss your research.

Spall (1998) interviewed graduate researchers about how they actually carried out peer debriefing in their own dissertations. Trust between researcher and debriefer mattered more than formal credentials. Sessions focused on methodological rather than emotional issues, and debriefing worked best as an ongoing skill rather than a single check.

Here are some additional characteristics to consider:

• Impartiality: Select someone who can offer unbiased perspectives and honest feedback.
• Strong communication skills: The debriefer should be able to clearly articulate their feedback and engage in constructive dialogue.
• Respectful and supportive: Choose someone who will respect your ideas and offer encouragement.
• Experience with diverse perspectives: Select someone who can help you consider the impact of your own background on your interpretations.

You should document your peer debriefing discussions in your research journal or field notes. The notes should reflect how the debriefer’s critiques have led to adjustments in the research.

Your research report should clearly describe the peer debriefing process and the participants, the timing of the meetings, the topics covered, and how you applied the feedback.

When should I start peer debriefing?

You should start peer debriefing early in the research process and continue it regularly throughout the project.

It’s beneficial to engage in peer debriefing from the initial stages of a study to maximize its potential benefits.

This allows you to gain valuable feedback and make adjustments to your research design before you invest a lot of time and effort in data collection.

Here’s why it’s helpful to start early:

• Establish a reflexive habit: early peer debriefing builds reflexivity (ongoing awareness of how your own assumptions shape the analysis) into the project from the start.
• Identify potential biases: It helps you identify and address potential biases and assumptions.
• Strengthen your research design: Discussing your research plan with a peer can help you strengthen your research design. This might involve refining your research questions, your data collection methods, or your analysis plan.

However, peer debriefing should also be ongoing, not just a one-time event. As your research progresses, you will encounter new challenges and insights.

Regular peer debriefing sessions will help you to work through these issues and to ensure that your research is staying on track.

How does peer debriefing work?

In practice, peer debriefing starts with agreeing on roles.

Clarify who will be the debriefer and what their role will entail.

Define the expectations for both the researcher and the debriefer, including the frequency and format of meetings, materials to be reviewed, and the nature of feedback expected.

Methods of Implementation

Researchers can engage with colleagues or experts in a variety of ways including:

• Formal meetings: The researcher and debriefer meet regularly to discuss the research.
• Informal discussions: The researcher and debriefer have informal conversations about the research.
• Written feedback: The debriefer provides written feedback on the researcher’s work.
• Formal work sessions: A group of peers react to a draft of the analytical codes or the research report.
• Structured team-reflexive discussions: Each team member answers personal reflexive questions in writing

During the meetings, the researcher and debriefer should review the raw data and analysis procedures.

Discussions should include emerging themes and patterns, methodological decisions, exploration of alternative interpretations, and documentation of insights.

Focus stays on both methodological rigor and interpretive insight.

Both the technical and emotional aspects of the research should be considered.

The goal of this process is not necessarily to reach a consensus, but rather to help the researcher think more critically about their data and to develop more robust interpretations.

Be open to feedback, even if it is critical. The goal of peer debriefing is to improve the quality of your research, so be willing to listen to your debriefer’s suggestions.

Develop a Peer Debriefing Protocol

Having a structured agenda or protocol helps to keep the debriefing session focused and productive.

This protocol can include specific questions for discussion and prompts for reflection.

• For example, the agenda can outline aims, areas of interest, and potential trajectories in conversation.
• Terms and definitions can also be outlined in the agenda.
• The agenda can also include exemplar questions that could be translated into local languages or cultural frameworks as necessary.

Structured Team-Reflexive Discussions

One powerful approach is structured team-reflexive discussions, where each team member engages in reflective writing to answer personal reflexive questions.

For example, researchers might ask themselves:

• In what way might my experience shape my participation in the project?
• What experiences have I had with qualitative research?
• What results do I expect to come out of this project?

After completing the reflective writing, the team shares their answers and discusses them.

This process helps researchers understand each team member’s position within the research and how this might impact the results.

Documentation and Integration

Researchers should document these discussions in their journals and field notes, indicating how the inquiry has been redirected based on critiques from peers.

This documentation creates a clear trail of how peer feedback has influenced and improved the research process.

Lincoln and Guba (1985) call this a study’s audit trail. It lets another researcher trace how conclusions were reached. Auditors can review this trail directly.

Challenges of peer debriefing

Peer debriefing carries some practical challenges alongside its benefits:

• Power Dynamics: Pre-existing hierarchies can make it hard for junior team members to feel comfortable questioning a senior researcher’s assumptions and decisions.
• Finding a Debriefer: It can be hard to find someone who knows qualitative methods and the topic well but has no stake in the study, especially in specialized fields.
• Accepting Feedback: Researchers must be ready to hear and act on critical feedback, which can be difficult under pressure or when attached to their own ideas.
• Time Commitment: Scheduling meetings, reviewing materials, and documenting insights takes real time, which is hard to fit around dissertation deadlines.
• Risk of Groupthink: Peers may simply agree with the researcher’s interpretations to avoid conflict, especially when the debriefing team lacks diverse perspectives.
• Discomfort with Challenge: Having assumptions questioned can feel uncomfortable, though clear expectations and a respectful debriefer help ease this.

The benefits of peer debriefing generally outweigh these challenges, provided researchers stay aware of them and take steps to manage them.

Alternatives to peer debriefing

While peer debriefing is considered helpful in qualitative research, there are other ways to minimize bias and enhance the trustworthiness of research findings.

Some of these methods include:

• Member checking: This involves sharing data with participants to get their feedback on the accuracy and interpretation of the findings. Member checking is a valuable tool, but researchers should carefully consider the approach and what they hope to gain from it.
• Reflexive journaling: Researchers keep a journal to record their thoughts, biases, and reflections throughout the research process. This helps promote transparency and reduce subjectivity.
• Triangulation: This involves using multiple data sources, methods, or researchers to confirm findings.

How is peer debriefing related to other quality criteria in qualitative research?

Peer debriefing can help enhance the confirmability, credibility, transferability, and dependability of qualitative research (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).

Two of these terms need unpacking. Transferability is whether the findings might reasonably apply beyond the study setting. Dependability is whether the research process itself was logical, traceable, and well documented.

How should peer debriefing be reported in research reports?

When reporting peer debriefing in research reports, transparency is key.

Readers need to understand how the process was conducted and how it contributed to the rigor of your study.

The goal is to provide enough detail to allow readers to assess the trustworthiness of your findings.

Reporting has changed since 1998. Since 2018, the American Psychological Association’s Journal Article Reporting Standards for Qualitative Research (JARS-Qual) require authors to state exactly which credibility techniques were used. Peer debriefing is one of the techniques this standard names (Levitt et al., 2018).

Nowell, Norris, White, and Moules (2017) built this expectation into practice, scheduling peer debriefing alongside investigator triangulation and member checking at specific phases of a thematic-analysis procedure.

What to Report

• Rationale: Clearly explain why you chose to use peer debriefing and how it aligns with your research paradigm. For instance, if your study is grounded in constructivist epistemology, you might emphasize how peer debriefing facilitated the co-construction of knowledge and helped you challenge your assumptions.
• Debriefer Selection: Describe how you selected your peer debriefer and their qualifications, highlighting their expertise in qualitative research and familiarity with your research topic. Emphasize their impartiality and independence from your study, showcasing their role as a critical friend offering unbiased feedback.
• Process Description: Detail the specific methods used for peer debriefing, specifying the frequency, format (e.g., formal meetings, informal discussions, written feedback), and materials reviewed. If you employed structured reflexive discussions or specific prompts, provide examples.
• Content Discussed: Explain the key topics addressed during debriefing sessions. Focus on areas where peer feedback influenced your research process, such as the refinement of research questions, adjustments to data collection methods, interpretation of findings, or identification and management of potential biases.
• Impact of Feedback: Demonstrate how you incorporated the feedback received from your debriefer into your research. Provide concrete examples of modifications made to your study design, data analysis, or interpretations based on their insights.
• Challenges Encountered: If you faced challenges during peer debriefing, such as navigating power dynamics or reconciling differing perspectives, acknowledge these challenges and describe how you addressed them.

Where to Report

• Methods Section: Dedicate a subsection within your methods section to describe the peer debriefing process, emphasizing its role in enhancing the trustworthiness and rigor of your study.
• Reflexivity Section: Integrate reflections on the peer debriefing experience within a broader discussion of reflexivity. Discuss how the process challenged your assumptions and contributed to the development of your research.
• Limitations Section: If applicable, acknowledge any limitations related to the peer debriefing process, such as the availability of qualified debriefers or time constraints.

By comprehensively reporting peer debriefing in your research reports, you demonstrate a commitment to transparency and enhance the credibility of your findings.

Benefits of peer debriefing

The purpose of peer debriefing is for researchers to test their insights and get feedback from other professionals, like faculty colleagues or members of a dissertation committee.

• It helps reduce researcher bias. By getting feedback from others, researchers can identify and address their own biases, which can help to improve the credibility of the findings.
• It can help to improve the quality of the research. Colleagues can check the categories developed from the data and look for disconfirming or negative cases, leading to more robust and credible findings.
• It can help to identify gaps in the research. Peers may be able to identify areas where the research is incomplete or where further investigation is needed.
• It can help to generate new ideas. Discussing the research with others can help to generate new ideas and insights.
• It can help to build a community of practice. Peer debriefing can help to build relationships between qualitative researchers and create a supportive environment for sharing ideas and challenges.

These benefits make peer debriefing one of the most widely used credibility checks in qualitative research.

Reading List

Levitt, H. M., Bamberg, M., Creswell, J. W., Frost, D. M., Josselson, R., & Suárez-Orozco, C. (2018). Journal article reporting standards for qualitative primary, qualitative meta-analytic, and mixed methods research in psychology: The APA Publications and Communications Board task force report. American Psychologist, 73(1), 26–46. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000151

Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847

Spall, S. (1998). Peer debriefing in qualitative research: Emerging operational models. Qualitative Inquiry, 4(2), 280–292. https://doi.org/10.1177/107780049800400208