Download Focus Groups: a Practical Guide for Applied

Designing 1-1 Interviews and
Focus Groups
Desmond Thomas, University of Essex
Some points to consider …
• The aims of interviewing
• Problem areas in interviewing
• How to formulate questions and interpret
answers
• Ethical considerations
• How to standardize interview procedures
• How to record & analyse interview data
Useful references
• Gillham, B. 2005, Research Interviewing,
Maidenhead: Open University Press
• Seale, C.(ed.), 2004, Researching Society
and Culture, London: Sage
• Krueger, R. 1994, Focus Groups: a Practical
Guide for Applied Research, Thousand Oaks
CA: Sage
Aims of interviewing?
To obtain qualitative (or sometimes
quantitative) data which is:
• Relevant
• Accurate
• Valid
• Reliable
• Obtained ethically
Advantages of 1-to-1 interviews
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Depth of information
Insights eg gained from key informants
Flexibility of formats
Validity: direct contact means that data can
be checked for accuracy and for relevance
• High response rate
• Opportunity for targeted individuals to make
their voice heard – element of advocacy
Key Problem Areas
• The ‘interviewer effect’ and power
relationships: face-to-face contact can directly
influence answers
• The ‘instant position’ effect: respondents feel
obliged to supply answers of some sort
• Investment of time and resources
• Complexity of data analysis
• Reliability issues for multiple interviews
• Establishing rapport
Features of interview design
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How many questions are required?
In what order?
How long/short?
Format? (open qqs, statements etc.)
Follow-up probes and/or prompts?
Wording of questions?
Mode of recording/analysing answers?
Design pitfalls (re-visited)
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Respondents often answer questions when they don’t really know the
answer.
Respondents can deliberately not answer or answer incorrectly (ie they
lie)
Respondents misinterpret questions
Small changes in wording can produce major changes in responses.
Attitudes and opinions can be unstable; circumstances can change
Memory can be unreliable.
Relationship between what respondents say they do and what they
actually do is not strong.
Cultural context has an impact on responses
The format itself can affect responses
The order of questions and answers to earlier questions can affect
responses.
And …The interviewer can affect responses
Conducting an interview
• Establishing a relationship/trust
• Explaining aims & procedures
• Low key presentation of self and
involvement
• Active listening
• Clarifications, probes and prompts
• Recording and analysing data
Ethical interviewing
• Informed consent: knowing what the interview
is for and how the data will be used
• Right of respondent to withdraw
• Assurance of confidentiality
• Adherence to professional guidelines:
• http://www.essex.ac.uk/reo/research_commu
nity/research_governance/ethics_in_research
What are focus groups?
• They consist of a small group of people
who are brought together by a trained
‘moderator’ (usually the researcher) to
explore attitudes, feelings and ideas
about a particular topic or set of issues
Main characteristics of FGs
• A question schedule is prepared by the
moderator to focus the discussion
• Place value on interaction within the
group as a means of eliciting
information – a social experience
• No requirement to reach consensus
• Less pressure to hold a fixed point of
view – in fact opinions can develop
FGs are useful when …
• Topics or issues need to be explored in
depth, or attitudes revealed
• Typical groups of key informants are to
be targeted eg language teachers
Advantages of FGs
• A less directive interview format
• ‘Interviewer bias’ can be greatly
reduced
• Provide a more natural social forum for
the exchange of ideas. Interviewees are
able to take the initiative – not just
respond
• The right to silence
FG problem areas
• Less directive means less predictable
• Huge amounts of data can be collected,
much of which may be unusable
• Perception that FGs are a market
research tool (Tony Blair & New Labour)
Focus Group Case Study:
Bulgarian Teacher Trainees
• Aims: to discover perceptions of main
problem areas in teaching
• Participants: groups of 4-6 trainees
• Questions: listed on a question schedule
• Led by: the researcher as moderator
• Analysis: grouping responses in data
categories and comparisons with data from
other sources
Successful Interviewing:
conclusions & do’s/don’ts
• Observe design principles. Keep in mind research
aims and start with information required (not
questions)
• Observe careful procedures. Clarify your agenda (do
not mislead!), think about how to establish rapport,
allow time and space for the respondent to produce
valid reflective answers. Pilot question schedules and
keep impeccable records at all times.