Definition

"It is a process of exposing oneself to a disinterested peer in a manner paralleling an analytical sessions and for the purpose of exploring aspects of the inquiry that might otherwise remain only implicit within the inquirer's mind" (Lincoln & Guba, 1985, p. 308)

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Purpose of debriefing

• through analytical probing a debriefer can help uncover taken for granted biases, perspectives and assumptions on the researcher's part

• through this process the researcher can become aware of his/her posture toward data and analysis

• this is an opportunity to test and defend emergent hypotheses and see if they seem reasonable and plausible to a disinterested debriefer

• provide the researcher with an opportunity for catharsis

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Reference

Lincoln, YS. & Guba, EG. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.