FOCUS GROUPS ANALYSIS OF QUALITATIVE DATA BUSN 364 – Week 14_2 Özge Can.
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Transcript of FOCUS GROUPS ANALYSIS OF QUALITATIVE DATA BUSN 364 – Week 14_2 Özge Can.
FOCUS GROUPS
ANALYSIS OF QUALITATIVE DATA
BUSN 364 – Week 14_2Özge Can
What is Focus Group Research? Qualitative research technique in
which people are informally “interviewed” in a group discussion setting
The researcher gathers 6-12 people in a room to discuss issues, generally for about 45-90 minutes
There is a moderator (facilitator) in the room to facilitate free, open discussion by all group members
The group should be moderately homogenous
Clear instructions and careful selection of participants
Purposes of Focus Groups
Gathering opinions, beliefs, and attitudes about issues of study interest
Encouraging discussion about a particular topic
Providing an opportunity to learn more and deeply about a topic or issue
Testing your theoretical assumptions Interpreting quantitative research results
Research Topics for Focus Groups: Public attitudes (e.g., workplace
equality, social relations) Personal behaviors (e.g., dealing with
cancer) A new product being introduced to the
market (e.g., a new breakfast cereal) Improving an existing product or
service A political candidate
Before the Focus Group:
Define the objectives of the focus group Establish a timeline Identify the participants Generate the questions Develop a script/plan of the whole
session Select a facilitator Choose the location Conduct the focus group!
During The Focus Group:
Set the tone; participants should have fun and feel good about the session.
Make sure every participant is heard; draw out quieter group members.
Get full answers (not just "we need more money" but "we need more money to hire a receptionist to answer phones").
Monitor time closely; don’t exceed time limits. Keep the discussion on track; try to answer all
or most of the questions. Head off exchanges of opinion about personal
lives.
After The Focus Group:
Interpret and report the results
In your report: Summarize each meeting individually Analyze the summaries Write the report
Evaluation of Focus Groups
Core Advantage: The natural discussion setting allows
people to express opinions/ ideas freely and in detail
Limitations: A “polarization effect” exists (attitudes
become more extreme after group discussion)
Only one or a few topics can be discussed in a group session
Moderator may unknowingly limit open, free expression of members
Qualitative Data
The data is in the form of text from documents, observational notes, open-ended interview transcripts, physical artifacts, audio-video tapes, and images and photos
To qualitatively analyze data => systematically to organize, integrate and examine it; searching for patterns and relationships among specific details
To analyze, we connect particular data concepts, make generalizations and identify broad themes
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Data Analysis
Similarities Inferential (both infer
from empirical data to abstract ideas)
Public and scientifically accepted methods/process
Comparison is central Both avoid errors,
false conclusions, misleading inferences
Differences– Quantitative
• Standardized• Analysis follows data
collection• Generally deductive (tests
existing theories)• Use of statistical analysis
– Qualitative• Less standardized, various• Analysis as data is collected• Generally inductive (builds
a new theory)• Use of non-statistical
analysis
Explanations with Qualitative Data
Not only descriptions in qualitative research; there are explanations too, BUT they are different from quantitative ones:
Less abstract theory Rich in detail, sensitive to context Capable of showing complex processes of
social life Provides supportive evidence to eliminate
some theoretical explanation from consideration and to increase plausibility of explanation
Coding and Concept Formation Conceptualization:
Grounded in data Categories based on themes Ideas and evidence interdependent
Coding Data: Open coding Axial coding Selective coding
Coding and Concept Formation Open coding: The first coding of
qualitative data that examines the data to reduce them into preliminary analytic categories or codes
1. It helps us see emerging themes at a glance
2. It stimulates us to find themes in future open coding
3. We can make a list of all themes in the study, which we reorganize, sort, combine or discard in further analysis
Coding and Concept Formation Axial coding: Second stage of coding
during which the researcher organizes the codes, links them, and discovers key analytic categories
Selective coding: Last stage in coding qualitative data that examines previous codes to identify and select data that will support the conceptual coding categories that were developed
Coding and Concept Formation
Analytic Memo Writing: It is a special type of note involving the
discussion of thoughts and ideas about the data and the coding process that you write to yourself.
Each code or concept forms the basis of a seperate memo
It links concrete data or raw evidence to abstract, theoretical thinking
Memos form the basis for analyzing data in a research report
Coding and Concept Formation
Analytic Memo Writing:
Qualitative Data in Field Research
Analytic Strategies for Qualitative Data
Ideal Types: It is a model or mental abstraction of social
relations or processes. The ideal types is an artificial device used as a pure standard against which data or reality can be compared.
Successive Approximation: Repeatedly moving back and forth between
the empirical data and the abstract concepts, theories, models, adjusting theory and refining data collection each time
Analytic Strategies for Qualitative Data
Illustrative Method: Qualitative data analysis that takes
theoretical concepts and treats them as “empty boxes” to be filled with specific empirical examples and descriptions. Evidence in the boxes confirms, modifies or rejects the theory.
Domain Analysis: Qualitative analysis that describes and
reveals the structure of a cultural domain (“minicultures” in a certain setting can be analyzed)
Analytic Strategies for Qualitative Data
Narrative Analysis: Qualitative data analysis that presents a
chronologically linked chain of events in which individual or collective social actors have an important role
Narrative text refers to data in a storylike format that people apply to organize and express meaning and understanding in social life
Tools of narrative analysis: path dependency, periodization, historical contingency
Analytic Strategies for Qualitative Data
Negative Case Method: Analysis that focuses on a case that does
not conform to the theoretical expectations and uses details from the case to refine theory
Some types of negative evidence: Events that population is not aware or
wants to hide, overlooked commonplace events
