data collection in qualitative research focus groups october 2015
TRANSCRIPT
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Qualitative data collection in Educational Research: focus groups
J.McIsaac & T.Varga-AtkinsAcademic DevelopmentUniversity of Liverpool
November 2015
Photo credit: to Ian Willis
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Outline
• Situating focus groups in educational research• Why? (Purpose)• What? (Characteristics)• How? (Method/Process)• Key considerations
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Your experience?
• Have you been a participant in a focus group?
• Have you been a facilitator of a focus group?
• What qualities/attributes and skills are needed for each role?
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Situating focus groups
• Derived from market research context, increasingly popular in social science research
• Data gathering process extends academic practice of exploratory discussion (Cousin, 2009)
• A form of group interview• It is all about the group interaction• Useful to triangulate with other methods
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Possibilities for focus groups
Can be: • A lead-up to a larger quantitative study• Used with a quantitative study to deepen
researcher’s understanding• A way to help researchers understand previous
data collected by quantitative methods• Used with other qualitative methods e.g.
interview• A stand alone method
(Wilson, 1997)
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Methods: from individual to group
Surveys
Focus groups
Interviews
Researcher present
individual
group
Researcher not present
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Methods: from individual to group
Surveys
Focus groups
Interviews
Researcher present
individual
group
Researcher not present
How many hours do you spend studying?
What makes you study (more)?
Can you tell me a bit more about what you do when you study?
Thinking time?Participant
motivation
Bias by others?
Shared experience?
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Surveys Focus groups Interviews
Bias? Useful when you don’t want others to bias your participant
Potential of ‘group bias’ – participants say what they think you or other participants want to hear
Useful when you don’t want others to bias your participant
Shared experience? Participant relies on own experience – may be more difficult to recall.
Useful to talk about shared experiences. ‘You bounce off ideas from one another’.
Useful when you want to explore individual experiences.
Thinking time? Relies on participant able to formulate their ideas without prompts.
As ideas develop during the process, FGs are useful when this thinking time is useful.
As ideas develop during the process, FGs are useful when this thinking time is useful.
Motivation/Enjoyment ? Non-response and quality of response as a problem.
Participants generally enjoy the process.* They learn something new.
Participants generally enjoy the process. They learn something new.
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Why? (rationale)focus groups
“When people gather to talk about something, their contributions and understandings will
be enriched by the group dynamic” (Cousin 2009)
“To display and discuss differences in a group.” (Ritchie & Lewis 2003)
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Characteristics of afocus group
• Structured group activity designed to elicit views on topic(s)
• Small group: 4-12 people• Meet 1-2 hours• With trained researcher/facilitator• Non-threatening environment• Explore participant’s perceptions, attitudes,
feelings, ideas• Encourage and utilise group interactions
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What is a focus group?
Researcher/FacilitatorSize: 6-8 (4-12) participants
Incentive
Sample selection!
Ethics: informed consent and reporting
Audio recorder & other resources or stimulus material
1-2 hours
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Part 1: Introduction
Scene-setting, establishing trust• purpose • ground rules (conformity / convergence)• ethics • reporting
1. Introduction2. The ‘Focus’ = questions3. Analysis
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Part 2: The Questions
Low vs high moderation
2 questions 6 questions: exploring international student experience on campus
6 questions
(Cousin 2009, p63)
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Anatomy of a good focus group question
with ready probes
(Cousin 2009, p63)
Preparation and good question (and prompts, probes) design is very important!
English language
Peer support
Probing for range
Probing for depth
Study skills
Can you say something
about further support..?
Open question
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Sample questions
• What aspects of the X best facilitated your learning?• What aspects of the X inhibited your learning ?• What aspects of the X caused the most
stress/anxiety and did this stress/anxiety worsen or lessen as the X progressed?
• Optional specific questions• Can you suggest one (two) different ways in which
the X could be improved?(UoL curriculum review, 2013)
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Key considerationsCousin, 2009
• Trustworthiness
• Group Dynamics– Interpersonal– Intrapersonal– Environmental
• Convergence or Conformity
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Summary• Focus groups enable – exploring a shared experience.– the research benefits from the development of understanding
and ideas in a group environment.– group bias or conformity is not likely/important.
• Must be facilitated.• Valuable in terms of the quality of the data• Facilitator must attend to follow up questions, seeking
alternative views• Nominal Group Technique can be used to end a focus
groups (or used alone)
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References
• Focus groups– Cousin, G. (2009). Focus Group Research in Researching learning in higher education :
an introduction to contemporary methods and approaches. – Ritchie, J. & Lewis, J. (2003). Qualitative research practice : a guide for social science
students and researchers. – Varga-Atkins, T., McIsaac, J. & Willis, I. (2015) Focus Group meets Nominal Group
Technique: an effective combination for student evaluation? Innovations in Education and Teaching International. Published online
– Wilson, V. (1997) Focus Group: a useful qualitative method for educational research? British Educational Research Journal, 23:2
• Nominal Group Technique– Practical guide: Varga-Atkins, T., with contributions from Bunyan, N; McIsaac, J; Fewtrell J. (2011) The Nominal Group
Technique: a practical guide for facilitators. Written for the ELESIG Small Grants Scheme. Liverpool: University of Liverpool. October. Version 1.0. Available at http://slidesha.re/s5KPUr
– Project report: Varga-Atkins, T. with contributions from Bunyan, N; McIsaac, J and Fewtrell, R. (2011) Using the nominal group technique with clickers to research student experiences of e-learning. Project Report written for the ELESIG Small Grants Scheme. Liverpool: University of Liverpool. Available from slideshare.net at http://slidesha.re/sc8gwT