What do they get out of it? Considering a partnership model in health service research

A research study to evaluate the implementation of a long-term conditions model of care provoked questions regarding the potential impact of the researcher’s role in health service research. Traditional methods of qualitative interviewing require researchers to be a disembodied presence, objective, and free from bias. When health service research is conducted by health professionals, role conflict may occur if the topic is one they have expertise in, and therefore the ability to provide guidance or information. An alternative perspective to the idea of an independent and objective researcher is the notion of a partnership. In this research collaboration, participants utilised the interview process to reflect and explore different perspectives, and the researcher bracketed their own participation in the phenomenon being studied. Reflexivity was utilised by both participants and the interviewer to ensure transparency and thus bridge the gap between subjectivity and objectivity in qualitative health service research interviewing.