Remaining skeptical: Bridling for and with one another

In this article, we argue that being our own best critics is a process by which we commit to interrogating what we know (or think we know) as we design a study. We situate the idea of bridling within the philosophical and methodological conversation of a more traditional notion in phenomenological research, bracketing, and then within Macbeth's three expressions of reflexivity in qualitative research. Based on our analysis of some of our methodological decisions, we articulate four pivotal issues we faced. We close by making specific suggestions for faculty and graduate students individually and as research teams to consider as they strive to be their own best critics in their research.