Utilizing insider-outsider research teams in qualitative research

Teams including members from both inside and outside the organization being studied make valuable contributions. A team configuration including both insiders and outsiders is highly effective because variations in the experience history of researchers on the team broaden the available perspectives and maximize the potential interpretations of observed behaviors. An insider-outsider research team consisting of university faculty and nurses at two psychiatric hospitals conducted a study, Meanings of State Hospital Nursing. This article summarizes the study, discusses issues to be resolved when using an insider-outsider research team, and presents the ways in which this approach enhanced the trustworthiness of our findings.