Table of Contents
Definition of Debriefing
(noun) Asking participants for feedback about their experience engaging in a research project and informing them of an unrevealed purpose.
Example of Debriefing
- Discussing how a participant feels after providing an interview about domestic violence.
Debriefing Pronunciation
Syllabification: de·brief·ing
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /dee-brEE-fing/
- British English – /(dEE-brEE-fing/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English: /diˈbɹifɪŋ/
- British English: /(ˈ)diːˈbɹiːfɪŋ/
Usage Notes
- Plural: debriefings
- Debriefing is particularly important if a participant could have experienced trauma during the research process. The debriefing period also allows participants to evaluate the process through sharing their lived experiences for the purpose of meaning making.
- By reviewing participant’s responses and interactions with the interviewer, research methodologies can be adapted. This is particularly useful when running a pilot study.
- Variant spelling: de-briefing
- A (noun) debriefer (verb) debriefs a research participant.
Additional Information
- Qualitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Quantitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “debrief” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- cohort
- content analysis
- continuer
- data
- hypothesis
- operationalization
- qualitative research
- quantitative research
- theory
Cite the Definition of Debriefing
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “debriefing.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved September 17, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/debriefing/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
debriefing. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/debriefing/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “debriefing.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed September 17, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/debriefing/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“debriefing.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 17 Sep. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/debriefing/>.