The process of debriefing involves several factors. Some studies require an extent of deception in order to comply with experimental guidelines, and these studies require debriefing afterwards. The Institutional Review Boards (IRB) are a group of specialized individuals who delineate the risks and benefits of certain studies with human participants, and they either approve or deny a study accordingly. The IRB also evaluates whether deception would be necessary for the study to be complete. Below are important points to consider during the process of debriefing.
When Should Debriefing Occur?
Debriefing should be used at the end of any study that uses deception and human participants, however it can also be used as an educational tool at the completion of any other study or activity. In the case of a study that utilizes any form of deception, all the involved participants have to be debriefed immediately after the study as the IRB expects. Apart from deception studies, debriefing could be used as an educational moment whereby the participants should receive a succinct and clear explanation describing the purpose and rationale of the study, in addition to the design and methods utilized. In all cases, researchers should be ready to answer any questions the participants may have.
What is Debriefing Useful for?
Debriefing is useful for informing the participants about the purpose, aim, and rationale of the study, in addition to answering key questions the participants may have regarding the study itself. In the case of studies that require some form of deception, debriefing is a requirement by the IRB to ensure the participants leave the study without harm. Often, participants are also given an informative sheet or email to ensure they have all the necessary information prior to going home. Debriefing allows for the participants to reflect on their experience as a participant in the study and give feedback on the methods or other elements of the study. Thus, debriefing could also be an educational tool.
Steps for Debriefing in Psychology
According to the IRB, below are the steps of the debriefing process:
- Explain the purpose of the study.
- If necessary, provide mental health resources.
- Ask whether the participant would accept being part of the study, as it is important to keep confidentiality.
- Give a final report of the study when it is completed, if they want.
- Provide useful contact information to ensure the participant has a list of resources for any questions or concerns about the study.
- Provide further reading documents if the participant would like to know more about the study.
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Debriefing Techniques Used in Psychology
Researchers in Psychology typically use four main questions that make up debriefing techniques as stated below:
- What did we want to accomplish?
- Did we accomplish what we set out to do?
- What caused the results we obtained?
- What do we need to keep doing, start doing, or stop doing?
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These questions ensure the participant understands the aim, purpose, and explanation of the results obtained, in addition to what kind of future research may be required.
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During a debriefing session, participants are regularly given mental health and clinical resources if they require it. This is an important part of the health and wellness check after the completion of the study, in addition to future follow up. Follow up also pertains to the participants having the researchers' contact information for any further questions they may have.
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There are many other types of debriefing used in psychology. They include:
- Military debriefing. This form of debriefing is important for military personnel to stop and reflect on their performance, in addition to providing important self-reflection and self-facilitated reviews. This process is also known formally as After Action Reviews (AAR).
- Organizational debriefing. The main purpose of organizational debriefing is for the staff to communicate their opinions and experiences of any emergency, exercise, or other important activity so that lessons can be drawn out and identified. This process is important in preparing the staff for any possible emergency or otherwise.
- Crisis intervention debriefing. Also known as Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD), this is a seven-step small-group procedure that is necessary for crisis intervention. Its primary purpose is to reduce distress experienced by a small group of people together.
- Experiential learning debriefing. This kind debriefing is an integral part of experiential learning, and it corresponds to the five steps of experiencing, publishing, processing, generalizing, and applying. The ultimate goal is to have students understand the new knowledge they learned.
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The most common challenges to using debriefing are associated with the researcher not using efficient techniques to promote continuous learning, or the participant's inability to understand the purpose/aim of the study for any reason. In this case, it is important to be thorough with the explanation and encourage questions from the participant to ensure they understand fully.
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A sample script or form of debriefing is highlighted below.
Thank you for your participation in our study!
The purpose of our study is {insert purpose}, and the goal is to {insert goal}.
If the questions or procedure of the study caused any strong emotions, we have provided a list of comprehensive clinical and mental health resources at the end of the sheet.
Confidentiality: you may decide to withdraw from the study, and that is okay. If you would like to delete your information, please follow the instructions {list them here}. Whether or not you choose to remain in the study, you will still receive compensation for the study.
Final Report: If you would like to see the final report of this study please feel free to contact us.
Useful contact information: {insert contact information}
Further reading: {insert further reading links or documents for related content}
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According to the Code of Ethics, debriefing is an important process by which researchers explain the goal, aim, and purpose of the study to the human participants and encourage reflection, questions, and feedback. Debriefing is an important process done at the completion of the study to ensure that participants are not harmed in any way. Importantly, human participants are necessary for researchers to understand human behavior.
The Institutional Review Boards (IRB) outline the procedure of debriefing, and it should occur in studies that use any form of deception, or for educational purposes. The steps of debriefing include explaining the purpose of the study, providing mental health resources, explain confidentiality, give a final report of the study, and provide important contact information. There are also many types of debriefing in psychology, including military, organizational, crisis intervention, and experiential learning debriefing. Finally, some challenges of debriefing include the researchers' inability to use efficient techniques or the participants' inability to understand thoroughly, whereby the researcher should ensure that the debrief is thorough and detailed enough.
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Video Transcript
Debriefing
Debriefing is a critical part of any experiment or psychological study that involves human participants. This procedure is conducted after the experiment or study has been concluded. Debriefing involves a structured or semi-structured verbal conversation between the researcher and the subjects whereby an array of topics are addressed and discussed, and the subjects are given an opportunity to ask questions. There are multiple components of the debriefing process.
Process of Debriefing
Under the Code of Ethics, once a study has been completed, researchers are required to provide participants with accurate and appropriate information about the nature of the experiment or study. Researchers also share with subjects any and all information related to what the purpose of the research was, as well as what the findings indicate.
During the debriefing process, subjects are informed about what the hypothesis for the experiment was as well. If the subject has any misconceptions about the study, the researcher takes reasonable steps to correct those misconceptions during the debriefing process. For example, if a subject was told that an experiment was being conducted in order to assess the impact of color on concentration, during debriefing, he or she would be advised that the researcher's hypothesis was that when subjects were in rooms with lighter-colored walls, it was predicted that he or she would demonstrate better concentration than if he or she was in a room with darker-colored walls.
Researchers do not need to share all of the details of the study prior to its beginning, as that knowledge could impact the data collection and subsequent results. But after the experiment is completed, researchers do need to inform participants of the true nature of the study as part of debriefing. If the subjects have been deceived during the experiment in any way, the debriefing will inform the subjects of the deception and explain the true objective of the study.
Participant Health and Wellness Check
If any of the subjects were changed or physically or emotionally harmed in any way as a result of the experiment, the researchers will use the debriefing process as a means to both identify and address these issues. Researchers always take reasonable steps to identify and minimize any harm to participants. For example, if after participating in a study, a subject who had no signs of sadness or depression is now feeling sad, the researcher needs to identify this issue and attempt to do something to restore the subject to the state he or she was in prior to participating in the study. The researcher could ask the subject to think of something fun that could make them happy or even engage in a small task to make them happy as well. Subjects can also be provided with referrals for counseling if the need is indicated during debriefing.
Follow-Up Care and Information
During the debriefing process, subjects are also given contact information about who they may contact with any questions or comments about the research. After participating in debriefing, a subject has the ethical right to withdraw his or her data from the study as well.
The goal of human research is to maximize the understanding of human behaviors, and researchers must assure that no harm comes to any subjects. The debriefing process is an essential component for all human subjects involved in psychological research.
Sample Debriefing Script
An example of a debriefing script that would be read by the researcher and shared with subjects in an experiment is as follows:
This study is concerned with the effect of color on concentration. There have been previous experiments conducted which have indicated that people are able to concentrate in varying degrees based on the color of the paint that is on the walls of the room that they are in. We used two groups and placed half in a room with light yellow walls and the other half in a room with dark blue walls. Both groups were given the exact same puzzles to complete and completion times were recorded.
The hypothesis was that those in the room with the yellow walls would accurately complete more of the puzzles in faster times. The hypothesis was supported by the experiment. If you are interested in learning more about the impact of color on concentration, you may contact Dr. Smith. If you have concerns about your rights as a subject in this study, please contact Dr. Jones. Do you have any questions? Thank you again for your participation in this study.
Lesson Summary
Psychological studies with human participants include a debriefing discussion between the researcher and the participant after the experiment is over. These conversations can be structured or semi-structured and are a critical part of any experiment or psychological study that involves human participants. The Code of Ethics requires researchers to provide participants with accurate and appropriate information about the nature of the experiment or study.
Sometimes, study participants receive contact information for a researcher or other professional who can address any follow-up questions. The debriefing process is helpful not only for the participant to get any questions answered, it is also important for the researcher to ensure that no harm has been done to the participant.
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