Question 1 (Brett P. & Liel C.)

This paper explores the topic of public involvement, which is defined as participation of members of the public in research beyond just being ‘subjects’ and actually being involved in the research process.

Did you feel that the researchers of this paper successfully employed public involvement in this study? Do you feel that the level of PI in this study is higher compared to research that you have worked on or have encountered?

The Modified Delphi project organized by Snape et al allowed for a public-researcher partnership in every step of the project. The public was involved in: debates and discussions about the research goals, development of the debate questions, recruitment of participants, and review of papers prior to publication. By the INVOLVE definition of public involvement of “research being carried out ‘with’ or ‘by’ members of the public”, Snape et al utilized a very high quantity of public involvement.
On the other hand, Brett’s research of EEG analysis involves very little public involvement by utilizing the public only as participants without any additional involvement in the research process.
Additionally, Liel’s research consisting of a systematic review includes no direct involvement with patients. Based on the articles assessed, the majority do not utilize public involvement and solely use the public as participants for research findings/gathering and do not involve them in any other steps of the research.