Member Checking With Older Women: A Framework for Negotiating Meaning

Encouraging participation by older people in the process of conducting research in the aged care field is paramount for developing an understanding of their experience. While some authors have recognized member checking as a way of ensuring participation in the research process, little information is available on how to conduct it. In this article a pilot study is described in which two older women discuss their experiences around receiving support services in their own home. In-depth and member checking interviews were undertaken, which were informed by Heidegger’s interpretive hermeneutic phenomenology. In this study a methodology for conducting member checks is developed that is consistent with participatory approaches and the active negotiation of meaning inherent in this paradigm.