How to conduct peer debriefing

While there are many reasons you may want to consider conducting a peer debriefing, some of the best practices and required elements in the process are generally the same.
  1. Identify areas of need. Think about what parts of your study you want your colleagues to review closely and prepare a full explanation. A peer debriefing about an informed consent document is different in nature than one about data collection techniques or observed results.
  2. Debrief peers. Orally explain the areas of concern in your study to debrief participants in your discussion. Transparently describing the details of your study can help clarify to your colleagues the issues you want to discuss for feedback.
  3. Answer peers' questions. Be prepared to answer participant's questions in peer debriefing sessions. When taking your colleagues' follow-up questions about your study, explain the thinking behind your research design so you can effectively establish a productive dialogue in peer debriefing.
  4. Gather feedback. Take feedback openly for later consideration. At this stage, the objectives are simply to listen to their comments and ask any clarifying questions about what your colleagues have in mind in terms of suggestions for your study.
  5. Analyze feedback. Use the comments you receive from peer debriefing to consider potential changes to your study design, the effects they might have, and whether they produce more rigorous results in turn.
  6. Revise study design. Make final decisions based on the informed discussions you had with your debriefing participants. Keep in mind that, while all feedback is ideally constructive, you are the researcher in charge of your study.
You may also decide to formalize the peer debriefing process through a series of interviews or a focus group discussion, which can be rendered into transcripts for later analysis. However, the goal of peer debriefing is not to collect a formal debriefing statement but rather to gain clear guidance on how to conduct research.

Benefits of peer debriefing sessions

Peer debriefing that relies on colleagues who are knowledgeable about the research area, appropriate methods, policy guidance, or key analytical strategies can provide an informative explanation about possible pathways for improving your research design. Given the dynamic nature of qualitative research, the best guidance for theories and methods is oftentimes a dialogue with other researchers, making peer debriefing among qualitative researchers a useful educational tool and means for engaging with thought provoking questions. Finally, the feedback you gather from peer debriefing can only bolster your writing of the procedures section of your research paper.

Limitations and challenges of peer debriefing

Invariably, peer debriefing means bringing in colleagues who may not (and depending on your preferences, should not) have a vested interest in your study. While this may provide an objective, outsider view that can guide your research, this also means that their preferences may not align with yours in terms of methods and analysis. Keep in mind that you are the principal investigator of your study. While keeping an open mind about different methodologies and epistemologies is key to more reflexive and robust qualitative research, ultimately the final decision about how your study is designed rests with you.