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A New Era in Focus Group ResearchFocus Groups in Triangulation Contexts

A New Era in Focus Group Research: Focus Groups in Triangulation Contexts [In some cases, focus groups are used as a stand-alone method, but they are also frequently combined with other approaches. When designing a study, a combination of focus groups and individual interviews may be selected because they afford access to different aspects of the phenomenon under study (with focus groups being included in order to provide insights into collective construction of social knowledge and everyday knowledge). This can give rise to different sorts of data with varying possibilities and outcomes. Analysis, thus, goes beyond simply comparing the content of individual interviews and of focus groups, as analysis can also focus on processes, drawing on the various theoretical perspectives (i.e. social interactionism and subjective reconstruction) adopted by researchers. Using focus groups with a view to triangulation does more than simply make the data more complete; it also affords a better understanding of a phenomenon under study. For example, analyzing apparently ‘unremarkable’ data in group discussions about ecological risks led to the identification of what could be termed a ‘false consensus’. Thus, it is argued, focus groups can make a valuable, indeed, unique contribution when employed in mixed methods studies – not just in terms of the data generated, but also the insights.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A New Era in Focus Group ResearchFocus Groups in Triangulation Contexts

Editors: Barbour, Rosaline S.; Morgan, David L.

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References (39)

Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan UK
Copyright
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017. The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
ISBN
978-1-137-58613-1
Pages
155 –177
DOI
10.1057/978-1-137-58614-8_8
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[In some cases, focus groups are used as a stand-alone method, but they are also frequently combined with other approaches. When designing a study, a combination of focus groups and individual interviews may be selected because they afford access to different aspects of the phenomenon under study (with focus groups being included in order to provide insights into collective construction of social knowledge and everyday knowledge). This can give rise to different sorts of data with varying possibilities and outcomes. Analysis, thus, goes beyond simply comparing the content of individual interviews and of focus groups, as analysis can also focus on processes, drawing on the various theoretical perspectives (i.e. social interactionism and subjective reconstruction) adopted by researchers. Using focus groups with a view to triangulation does more than simply make the data more complete; it also affords a better understanding of a phenomenon under study. For example, analyzing apparently ‘unremarkable’ data in group discussions about ecological risks led to the identification of what could be termed a ‘false consensus’. Thus, it is argued, focus groups can make a valuable, indeed, unique contribution when employed in mixed methods studies – not just in terms of the data generated, but also the insights.]

Published: Jun 24, 2017

Keywords: Triangulation; Collective construction; Mixed methods

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