From member checking to collaborative reflection: a novel way to use a familiar method for engaging participants in qualitative research

The importance of engaging participants collaboratively in knowledge production is increasingly emphasised. We reflect on our use of a form of member checking to inform future research directions. We invited clinicians to participate in in-depth interviews to reflect on a plain language summary of the results and recommendations from an initial study in which they had participated. Our aim was not to modify those results, but to invite reflection, scrutiny, and insights into how results might be best communicated, translated, or implemented. We propose this collaborative reflection approach as a useful tool for engaging participants or other stakeholders more collaboratively within broader programs of research. We argue that collaborative reflection offers a novel way to engage participants or stakeholders in knowledge production in a way that can enable movement toward deeper collaboration and potential co-production, and conclude by identifying a range of ways in which this tool might be used.