The Focus Group Method in Practical Ecclesiology: Performative Effects and Ecclesiological Rationale

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henk de Roest
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Group Method ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Focus Group Method

The author gives an analysis of the methodological advantages and disadvantages of using focus groups in practical ecclesiology. He makes a plea for including focus groups in a mixed method strategy in practical ecclesiological research, being attentive to their performative effects. He asks, if ecclesiology governs the methodological design of a practical-ecclesiological research project, should not methods that focus on conversational practices and how people build up a view out of the interaction that takes place within a group, be pulled into the heart of the research? In his reply to this question, the article gives a relational-constructionist, an ecclesiological and a theological rationale for using focus groups.

scholarly journals Precincts and Prospects in the Use of Focus Groups in Social and Behavioral Science Research

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Sagoe
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Behavioral Science ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Group Method ◽  
Behavioural Science ◽  
Behavioral Science Research ◽  
Social And Behavioral Science ◽  
Focus Group Method ◽  
Practical Recommendations

Over the past few years, the focus group method has assumed a very important role as a method for collecting qualitative data in social and behavioural science research. This article elucidates theoretical and practical problems and prospects associated with the use of focus groups as a qualitative research method in social and behavioural science research. The core uses of focus groups in social and behavioural science research are discussed. In addition, the strengths and limitations of employing focus groups in social and behavioural science research are elucidated. Furthermore, the article discusses practical recommendations for strengthening the focus group method in social and behavioural science research.

scholarly journals Analysing the ways of participating in interview settings: young people’s identity performances and social class in focus groups

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 649-666
Author(s):  
Anu Katainen ◽  
Riie Heikkilä
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Group Method ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Deprived Neighbourhoods ◽  
Situated Identity ◽  
The Social ◽  
Study Setting ◽  
Focus Group Method

Critical discussions on the focus group method have highlighted the importance of considering the forms of interaction generated in groups. In this empirical paper we argue that these forms of interaction are intimately linked to the ways participants interpret the study setting, and these interpretations are likely to differ significantly depending on participants’ social backgrounds. In the light of our data consisting of 18 focus groups with 15-year-old school pupils from both affluent and deprived neighbourhoods of Helsinki discussing film clips about young people drinking alcohol, we ask what kinds of modes of participation are mobilised in focus group discussions in order to mark the social position of participants. We further analyse these modes in relation to situated identity performances, arguing that contextual factors of the study setting become especially important to consider when researching vulnerable groups and heterogeneous populations. The analysis yields three modes of participation: these are active/engaged, resistant/passive and dominant/transformative. We argue that these modes can be viewed as actively taken positions that reveal what kinds of identities and competences participants are able and willing to mobilise in the study setting, and that recognising these modes is important in all interview settings.

scholarly journals PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF CROWDSOURCING IMPLEMENTATION IN THE ASSESSMENTS OF RESIDENTS OF THE NCFD MUNICIPALITIES (results of focus groups)

2020 ◽  
pp. 178-182
Author(s):  
С.В. Алиева ◽  
И.В. Долгова ◽  
Н.Н. Киселева
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Federal District ◽  
Group Method ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
The North ◽  
Focus Group Method

В статье представлены результаты исследования проблем и перспектив реализации краудсорсинга в муниципальных образованиях СКФО на основе метода фокус-групп. Исследование было нацелено на выявление отношения жителей СКФО к внедрению краудсорсинга в управление муниципальными образованиями, их оценки относительно выбора форм коммуникации, характера мотивов участников и получения эффектов реализации краудсорсинговых проектов. В результате интерпретации полученных эмпирических данных были сделаны обобщения и выполнена систематизация выявленных трендов. The article presents the results of a study of the problems and prospects of crowdsourcing implementation in the municipalities of the North Caucasus Federal District based on the focus group method. The study was aimed at identifying the attitude of residents of the North Caucasus Federal District to the introduction of crowdsourcing in the management of municipalities, their assessment of the choice of forms of communication, the nature of the motives of participants and obtaining the effects of the implementation of crowdsourcing projects. As a result of the interpretation of the obtained empirical data, generalizations were made and the identified trends were systematized.

scholarly journals Focus groups and methodological rigour outside the minority world: making the method work to its strengths in Tanzania

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilde Jakobsen
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Group Method ◽  
Data Generation ◽  
Trial And Error ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Majority World ◽  
Focus Group Method

This article examines some methodological issues that arise when conducting focus group discussions in the majority world (developing countries), and describes one way of addressing them. While the method is widely used in the majority world, the methodological literature on how to moderate focus groups builds on accumulated experiences of how conversations work in the minority world (developed countries). This article suggests a way to apply the method more rigorously in a majority-world context. It draws on a trial-and-error innovation process spanning 40 discussions in Tanzania. Ensuring quality in data generation required thorough attention to issues of alterity, positionality and power. These issues are common challenges to methodological rigour when researching across difference in the majority world. But this article contends that if used correctly and to its strengths, the focus group method can indeed address and solve these challenges. This also entails creating appropriate conditions for interaction among focus groups participants.

scholarly journals Focus Groups in Ethnography of Communication: Expanding Topics of Inquiry Beyond Participant Observation

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Suter
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Group Method ◽  
Ethnography Of Communication ◽  
Research Protocols ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
Focus Group Method ◽  
Naming Practices

Historically, ethnography of communication has viewed participant observation as the central and necessary methodological point of departure for any ethnographic endeavor. However, as this article illustrates, this becomes problematic when particular topics of inquiry do not provide ample opportunities for observation. After struggles to participant observe conversations on women's marital naming practices, I was able to research this topic and produce participant observation-like understandings after I incorporated focus groups into my methods. Based upon these experiences and study, this article urges ethnography of communication scholars to step outside their traditional methodological practices, when necessary, and integrate the focus group method into their research protocols.

scholarly journals Using Symbols and Shapes for Analysis in Small Focus Group Research

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oladokun Omojola
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
Group Method ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Focus Group Research ◽  
Group Research ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Small Focus ◽  
Focus Group Method

Substantial literature exists to support the growing importance of focus group research, having been around for decades. Its ubiquity under the scholarship radar is not in doubt while the analyses of findings commonly seen are scholarly and significantly sophisticated. However, these analyses have been found to be limited in scope for fresh adopters of the focus group method, non-literate beneficiaries of research findings and business people who are critically averse to lengthy textual statements about outcomes. This article introduces the use of symbols as a means of analyzing responses from small focus group discussions. It attempts to demonstrate that using symbols can substantially assist in the prima facie determination of perceptions from a focus group membership, its patterns of agreement and disagreement, as well as the sequence of its discussions.

scholarly journals Rationed nursing care – conclusions from focus groups

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 162-168
Author(s):  
Eva Janikova ◽  
Ilona Plevova ◽  
Darja Jarosova
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Nursing Care ◽  
Group Method ◽  
Potential Solution ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Marketing Education ◽  
Missed Care ◽  
Care Rationing ◽  
Focus Group Method

AbstractAim. The focus groups aimed to outline the main areas of missed care and identify how the causes, effects and potential solution proposals are perceived.Methods. For the initial part of the research, the focus group method was selected. Three focus groups were organized which comprised 25 nurses working in inpatient wards of healthcare facilities in the Moravian-Silesian Region.Results. Based on the content analysis, four main categories were established: causes and consequences of missed care, missed interventions and suggestions for potential solutions. These were further divided into subcategories. The causes of missed care were related to the nurse’s personality, patient’s personality, healthcare system and management system. Missed interventions were classified into basic nursing care interventions, specialized interventions to be performed by nurses and common activities. The consequences of missed care affect both patients and the staff. The suggestions for potential solution included changes in management and marketing, education of healthcare professionals and patient care.Conclusions. With respect to care rationing, the quality of care provided must not be compromised to a point where the safety of the staff and patients is at risk. Discussing these issues openly may result in search for other potential solutions that may be implemented in practice.

scholarly journals Using Focus Group Research in Exploring the Relationships between Youth, Risk and Social Position

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Merryweather
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Social Position ◽  
Group Method ◽  
Conversational Interaction ◽  
Focus Group Research ◽  
Group Research ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Focus Group Method

This paper draws upon current research to consider the value of the focus group method for exploring the relationships between youth, risk and social position. Groups comprising young people occupying similar social positions were used to generate talk about aspects of everyday life regarded as risk. Through the processes of conversational interaction facilitated by the focus group method, participants co-produced detailed risk narratives, understood here in Bourdieu's terms as product and producer of the habitus related to social position. Using data from several of the focus groups I illustrate how the method was especially useful in generating narratives indicative of how risks were experienced and understood in different ways according to social positions of class, gender and ethnicity. Such risk narratives also reproduced distinctions between and within different social positions. Consideration is given to certain limitations of the focus group method in respect of this research. Ultimately, however, the ability of the method to generate collaborative narratives reflective of shared social position is viewed as an invaluable means for developing a rich and nuanced account of the relations between youth and risk.

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