research seminar lecture_9_focus_groups

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Research Seminar for

Educational Sciences

Prof. Dr. Chang Zhu

Department of Educational Sciences

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

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Focus Groups

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Focus Groups

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKCkV-

HuHWU

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Focus Groups

A focus group is a small group discussion guided by a trained leader/moderator, used to learn more about opinions on a designated topic, and then guide future action.

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A Focus Group Is . . .

What

• A carefully planned discussion

• To obtain perceptions of

• a defined interest area

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Where

• In a permissive,

non-threatening environment

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Who

• A group of people (7-10,

8-12, 5-10)

• With common

characteristics relating

to a discussion topic

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How

• Conducted by a trained interviewer (moderator,

facilitator).

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• How many

• “Theoretical saturation”

– Same ideas repeating

– Improves validity

• Practical concerns

– Cost

– Time

– Available participants

Recommendation: Plan for min. 3 focus groups


How long

• 60-150 minutes

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Selecting Participants

• Each group of participants are similar

• General selection rules:– Set specification

– Maintain control of the selection process

– Use the resources of the sponsoring organization in recruiting

– Beware of bias

– Develop a pool of eligible participants and then randomly select

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When focus groups?

• When considering introducing a new

program or service

• When the main concern is depth of

opinion

• When you want to ask questions that

can’t easily be asked or answered in a

written survey

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How are focus groups different

from regular “groups”?

• They are focused on a specific topic

• They have a trained facilitator

• Members of the group are encouraged to talk

openly about their opinions and respond to

other members

Moderator Skills

• Is mentally prepared

• Selects appropriate location

• Records the discussion

• Uses purposeful small talk

• Has a smooth & snappy introduction

• Uses pauses and probes

• Uses subtle group control

• Controls reactions to participants

• Uses an assistant moderator

• Uses appropriate conclusion14

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Assistant Moderator

• Equipment

• Refreshments

• Room arrangement

• Greeting

• Taking notes

• Tape recording

• Oral summary

• Incentives

• Debriefing w/moderator

• Feedback on analysis

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Beginning the Focus Group

Discussion

• The first few moments in focus group discussion are critical.

– Create a thoughtful, permissive atmosphere

– Provide the ground rules

– Set the tone

• Recommended introduction pattern:

– Welcome

– Overview and topic

– Ground rules

– First question16

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Asking Questions

• Ask questions that yield powerful

• Information

• Use open-ended questions

• Avoid dichotomous questions

• Use "think back" questions

• Carefully prepare focus questions

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Ending Questions

• Summary question

"Is this an adequate summary?“

• Reflection question

Ask participants to reflect on the entire discussion

and then offer their positions or opinions

• Final question

"Have we missed anything?

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Types and Sequence of

Questions

Opening – brief, factual, everyone answers,

establishes common ground

Introductory – introduces topic, open-ended,

helps participants connect to topic

Transition – bridge fm intro to key questions

Key (2-5) – focus of the study & analysis

Ending – summarizes or highlights most

important points or looks for gaps

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Characteristics of FG

Questions

Questions SHOULD be…

• Open-ended

• Focused in scope

• Conversational

• Clear (not ambiguous)

• Uni-dimensional (i.e.

1 question=1 idea)

• Presented in context

Questns should NOT be…

• Closed-ended

– dichotomous: yes/no

– how much/to what extent

• Why did you…? (instead ask for influence or attribute)

• Multi-dimensional (e.g.

– two adjectives

– multiple phrases

• Long or contain jargon

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Managing the Discussion

• Explicitly encourage differing points of

view

• Moderating techniques– Pause: wait 5 seconds after a comment

– Probe: most useful early in session

• Would you explain further?

• Would you give me an example of what you

mean?

• Would you say more?

• Is there anything else?

• Please describe what you mean.

Analyzing Focus Group

Results

Good analysis takes

time, discipline

and skill!

• Principles

• Alternative strategies

• Procedures

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Begin Analysis Immediately

• Schedule FGs carefully

(max: 2/day)

• During session

– take good notes

– use summary end question

• Right after session

– tape record debriefing

• Within 1-2 days

– use tape to complete notes

– label & file everything2

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Systematic Analysis Process

• Start while still in the group

• Immediately after the focus group

• Soon after the focus group--within hours analyze individual focus group

• Later--within days analyze the series of focus groups

• Finally, prepare the report

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Data Analysis

• Driven by underlying research question

• Qualitative– Interpretive, constrained by context

– Topics – linked to group guidelines

• Steps– Mechanical – organizing, subdividing

– Interpretive – developing subdivisions (code mapping), search for patterns within subdivisions, drawing meaningful conclusions

– Software: e.g., Atlas.ti; The Ethnograph; …..

• Reliability– Repeated review of data

– Independent analysis by > two experienced analysts

Focus Group Analysis Tips

When analyzing focus group data, consider…

• Words

• Context

• Internal consistency

• Frequency or extensiveness of comments

• Intensity of the comments

• Specificity of responses

• Find the big ideas

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Principles: FG Analysis Should

Be...

• Systematic: follow procedures

• Verifiable: another person could repeat it

• Focused: concentrate on key questions

• Practical: appropriate to info. needed

• Open: seek alternative explanations

• Vetted: incorporate feedback from others

• Prompt: analysis is hurt by delay

Considerations in the Analysis

• Actual words used

• Context of the responses

• Internal consistency

• Strength of the comments– Frequency

– Extensiveness

– Specificity

Don’t forget: Find the big ideas!!!

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Results

• Qualitative:

– Themes, Issues, Concerns

– Substantiating Quotes

• Quantitative:

– No. of participants who agreed or disagreed

– Frequency of themes within the group discussion

– Sample characteristics

Strengths

• Provides concentrated amounts of rich data, in

participants’ own words, on precisely the topic

of interest

• Interaction of participants adds richness to the

data that may be missed in individual

interviews

• Provides critical information in development

of hypotheses or interpretation of quantitative

data

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Limitations

• Small number of participants

• Limited generalizability

• Group dynamics can be a challenge

– Particularly if moderator is inexperienced

• Interpretation

– Time-consuming

– Requires experienced analysts

Conclusions

• Focus group methodology

– provides rich depth of understanding of the

phenomenon of interest

– can be used in isolation, or to complement or

supplement quantitative methods

– is as useful and as strong as its link to the

underlying research question and the rigor with

which it is applied.

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More reading….

Focus Groups: A

Practical Guide for

Applied Research

by Richard A. Krueger

Sage Publications, Inc.

2008 (4th edition)

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Software for qualitative data

analysis

• Atlas.ti

• Nvivo

• MAXQDA

• Nvivo

• The Ethnograph

• HyperQual

• HyperResearch

• HyperSoft

• Qualrus

• QUALOG

• Textbase Alpha3

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Task

• Conduct a focus group interview

Assignment

• Work on your draft research proposal

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