“Sewing Is Part of Our Tradition”: A Case Study of Sewing as a Strategy for Arts-Based Inquiry in Health Research With Inuit Women

In this article, we present a case study of sewing as a strategy for arts-based inquiry in health research, situated within a broader project that highlighted Nunavut Inuit women’s childbirth experiences. Five focus groups were hosted as sewing sessions with pregnant women ( N = 19) in Iqaluit, Nunavut (2017–2018). Women’s reflections on the sessions, and the significance of sewing to Inuit, were integrated with researchers’ critical reflections to examine the value of sewing as a strategy for arts-based inquiry within a focus group method: results related to the flexibility of the sessions; how collective sewing created space for voicing, sharing, and relating; sewing as a tactile and place-specific practice tied to Inuit knowledge and tradition; and lessons learned. Our results underscore the possibilities of arts-based approaches, such as sewing, to enhance data gathering within a focus group method and to contribute to more locally appropriate, place-based methods for Indigenous health research.

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Rapid, remote and responsive research during COVID-19

Methodological Innovations ◽

10.1177/20597991211008581 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 205979912110085

Author(s):

Jane Richardson ◽

Barry Godfrey ◽

Sandra Walklate

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Social Science ◽

Health Research ◽

Applied Research ◽

Data Gathering ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Research And Innovation ◽

The Uk ◽

Practical Recommendations

In March 2020, the UK Research and Innovation announced an emergency call for research to inform policy and practice responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. This call implicitly and explicitly required researchers to work rapidly, remotely and responsively. In this article, we briefly review how rapid response methods developed in health research can be used in other social science fields. After outlining the literature in this area, we use the early stages of our applied research into criminal justice responses to domestic abuse during COVID-19 as a case study to illustrate some of the practical challenges we faced in responding to this rapid funding call. We review our use of and experience with remote research methods and describe how we used and adapted these methods in our research, from data gathering through to transcription and analysis. We reflect on our experiences to date of what it means to be responsive in fast-changing research situations. Finally, we make some practical recommendations for conducting applied research in a ‘nimble’ way to meet the demands of working rapidly, remotely, responsively and, most importantly, responsibly.

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The focus group method and contemporary French sociology

Journal of Sociology ◽

10.1177/144078301128756382 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 37 (4) ◽

pp. 341-353 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Jacques Hamel

Keyword(s):

Focus Group ◽

Group Method ◽

French Sociology ◽

Focus Group Method

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Effect of Personality, Power, and Emotion on Developing the 2017-2022 Philippine Health Research Agenda: A Case Study

Acta Medica Philippina ◽

10.47895/amp.v53i3.136 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 53 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Alejandra M. Libunao ◽

Reneepearl Kim P. Sales ◽

Jaifred Christian F. Lopez ◽

Ma. Rowena H. Alcido ◽

Lester Sam A. Geroy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Research ◽

Research Agenda ◽

Social Dynamics ◽

Participant Observation ◽

Data Gathering ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Power Dynamics ◽

Smooth Flow ◽

Process Documentation ◽

Multi Stakeholder

Background. Social dynamics, specifically personalities, power dynamics, and emotions, have been shown to influence the methods, outputs, and quality of multi-stakeholder processes, especially the development of a national health research agenda. Objective and Methods. Using a case analysis approach utilizing related conceptual frameworks, the paper determined how personalities, power dynamics, and emotions affected the research priority-setting exercise, identified lessons learned, and recommended how to effectively manage these social dynamics in consultations. Data gathering methods were participant observation and process documentation, results of which were codified and analyzed. Results. Dominant personalities, stakeholders with power, and stakeholders that openly expressed dissatisfaction were most likely to attempt to change the methods and final outputs of the consultation, with varying level of success. Other dominant personalities used their power constructively for a smooth flow of generating and agreeing on ideas. Conclusion. In this case, social dynamics was shown to heavily influence the decision-making process, thus underlining its importance in organizing multisectoral representation. Effectively managing social dynamics may thus have to consider building trust and respect between participants, mediating discussions, reaching a mutually beneficial solution, and establishing and implementing mutually agreed house rules. The significant role of facilitators in developing a climate for truly inclusive participation must also be recognized.

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Using Symbols and Shapes for Analysis in Small Focus Group Research

The Qualitative Report ◽

10.46743/2160-3715/2016.2388 ◽

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.

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

The Qualitative Report ◽

10.46743/2160-3715/2012.1784 ◽

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.

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

Sociological Research Online ◽

10.5153/sro.2086 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 11-23 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

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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The Focus Group Method as an Empirical Tool in Software Engineering

Guide to Advanced Empirical Software Engineering ◽

10.1007/978-1-84800-044-5_4 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 93-116 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Jyrki Kontio ◽

Johanna Bragge ◽

Laura Lehtola

Keyword(s):

Software Engineering ◽

Focus Group ◽

Group Method ◽

Focus Group Method

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

Qualitative Research ◽

10.1177/1468794119891634 ◽

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.

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Quality Is in the Eye of the Beholder—A Focus Group Study from the Perspective of Ambulance Clinicians, Physicians, and Managers

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare7010041 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 41 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Andreas Rantala ◽

Lina Behm ◽

Helena Rosén

Keyword(s):

Focus Group ◽

Response Time ◽

Paradigm Shift ◽

Patient Involvement ◽

Ambulance Service ◽

Group Method ◽

Focus Group Study ◽

Definition Of ◽

Patients Experience ◽

Focus Group Method

Quality within all areas of healthcare should be systemically monitored and ensured. However, the definition of quality is complex and diverse. In the ambulance service (AS), quality has traditionally been defined as response time, but this measurement eliminates the possibility of addressing other characteristics of quality, such as the care provided. This study aimed to explore what constitutes quality in the context of the ambulance service as experienced by ambulance clinicians, physicians, and managers. A focus group study was conducted with 18 participants. The three focus groups were analyzed with the focus group method developed by Kreuger and Casey. The participants highlighted patient involvement, information and care, as well as adherence to policies, regulations, and their own standards as representing quality in the AS. This study demonstrates that quality is in the eye of the beholder. As quality seems to be viewed similarly by patients and ambulance clinicians, physicians, and managers, stakeholders should aim for a paradigm shift where patients’ experience of the care is just as important as various time measures.

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