Evidence Library

Abstract:

This study compared the way in which service user researchers and university researchers conducted interviews and then analysed the findings. This was part of a qualitative study of the experiences of psychiatric patients who had been sectioned.

The results showed that in the interviews service user researchers were more likely to ask questions about people's experiences and feelings, whereas the university researchers were more likely to ask about medical treatments and behavioural approaches to understanding the interviewees' experiences. There were even more differences in the ways that service user and university researchers analysed the transcripts. The service users gave more weight to people's experiences and feelings about detention, while the university researchers gave more weight to practice and procedures.

The research team used these contrasting perspectives to provide different accounts of the detained patient experience. This informed the design of staff training that covered both aspects - the patient experience and procedures. They conclude that a collaborative approach can produce more complex data and analyses, and offer a more comprehensive insight into the research question.
They also suggest that a similar method is used compare the two types of researcher in a larger study involving more interviewers and more interviews. They believe this would generate more robust and rigorous evidence of the impact of service user researchers.

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Categories: health
Undertaking research
Analysing and interpreting
impact on research
impact of public involvement
journal article

Date Entered: 2010/09/28

Date Edited: 2015/02/19