Table 1 Opportunities for user involvement in designing and conducting research

● Pre-research: identifying research priorities, suggesting research ideas, commenting on usefulness of the research

● Proposals: joint grant holders or co-applicants on a research project; consultants who comment on the wording of proposals or the wording of ‘lay language summaries’; feedback on the perceived relevance and utility of the proposed outcomes from a patient perspective

● Research design: participate in design of the intervention for people with diabetes, review the language and user-friendliness of questionnaires, commenting and developing patient information leaflets and printed materials

● Recruitment: contribute to ideas for ensuring good recruitment and participation in the study, feedback on patient consent forms and project information sheets

● Data collection: participate in data collection as lay researchers undertaking interviews with research participants as user and/or carer researchers

● Analysis: co-analyse data—this may include analysis of qualitative themes and identification of areas where additional clarification or further sampling is needed

● Dissemination: ensuring findings are circulated and presented to local communities, patient groups, organisations