scholarly journals Insights for conducting real-time focus groups online using a web conferencing service

F1000Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 122 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Kite ◽  
Philayrath Phongsavan
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Web Conferencing ◽  
Online Groups ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
Online Focus Groups ◽  
Health Related Research ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Impact

Background: Online focus groups have been increasing in use over the last 2 decades, including in biomedical and health-related research. However, most of this research has made use of text-based services such as email, discussion boards, and chat rooms that do not replicate the experience of face-to-face focus groups. Web conferencing services have the potential to more closely match the face-to-face focus group experience, including important visual and aural cues. This paper provides critical reflections on using a web conferencing service to conduct online focus groups.Methods: We conducted both online and face-to-face focus groups as part of the same study. The online groups were conducted in real-time using the web conferencing service, Blackboard CollaborateTM. We used reflective practice to assess the similarities and differences in the conduct and content of the groups across the two platforms.Results: We found that further research using such services is warranted, particularly when working with hard-to-reach or geographically dispersed populations. The level of discussion and the quality of the data obtained was similar to that found in face-to-face groups. However, some issues remain, particularly in relation to managing technical issues experienced by participants and ensuring adequate recording quality to facilitate transcription and analysis.Conclusions: Our experience with using web conferencing for online focus groups suggests that they have the potential to offer a realistic and comparable alternative to face-to-face focus groups, especially for geographically dispersed populations such as rural and remote health practitioners. Further testing of these services is warranted but researchers should carefully consider the service they use to minimise the impact of technical difficulties.

scholarly journals Insights for conducting real-time focus groups online using a web conferencing service

F1000Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 122 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Kite ◽  
Philayrath Phongsavan
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Web Conferencing ◽  
Online Groups ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
Online Focus Groups ◽  
Health Related Research ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Impact

Background Online focus groups have been increasing in use over the last 2 decades, including in biomedical and health-related research. However, most of this research has made use of text-based services such as email, discussion boards, and chat rooms, which do not replicate the experience of face-to-face focus groups. Web conferencing services have the potential to more closely match the face-to-face focus group experience, including important visual and aural cues. This paper provides critical reflections on using a web conferencing service to conduct online focus groups. Methods As part of a broader study, we conducted both online and face-to-face focus groups with participants. The online groups were conducted in real-time using the web conferencing service, Blackboard CollaborateTM. We used reflective practice to assess how the conduct and content of the groups were similar and how they differed across the two platforms. Results We found that further research using such services is warranted, particularly when working with hard-to-reach or geographically dispersed populations. The level of discussion and the quality of the data obtained was similar to that found in face-to-face groups. However, some issues remain, particularly in relation to managing technical issues experienced by participants and ensuring adequate recording quality to facilitate transcription and analysis. Conclusions Our experience with using web conferencing for online focus groups suggests that they have the potential to offer a realistic and comparable alternative to face-to-face focus groups, especially for geographically dispersed populations such as rural and remote health practitioners. Further testing of these services is warranted but researchers should carefully consider the service they use to minimise the impact of technical difficulties.

scholarly journals STEER: Factors to Consider When Designing Online Focus Groups Using Audiovisual Technology in Health Research

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 160940691988578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Daniels ◽  
Patricia Gillen ◽  
Karen Casson ◽  
Iseult Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Online Focus Groups ◽  
Health Care Practitioners ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
Journal Entries

Technological advancements and ease of Internet accessibility have made using Internet-based audiovisual software a viable option for researchers conducting focus groups. Online platforms overcome any geographical limitations placed on sampling by the location of potential participants and so enhance opportunities for real-time discussions and data collection in groups that otherwise might not be feasible. Although researchers have been adopting Internet-based options for some time, empirical evaluations and published examples of focus groups conducted using audiovisual technology are sparse. It therefore cannot yet be established whether conducting focus groups in this way can truly mirror face-to-face discussions in achieving the authentic interaction to generate data. We use our experiences to add to the developing body of literature by analyzing our critical reflections on how procedural aspects had the potential to influence the data we collected using audiovisual technology to conduct synchronous focus groups. As part of a mixed methods study, we chose to conduct focus groups in this way to access geographically dispersed populations and to enhance sample variation. We conducted eight online focus groups using audiovisual technology with both academic researchers and health-care practitioners across the four regions of the United Kingdom. A reflexive journal was completed throughout the planning, conduct and analysis of the focus groups. Content analysis of journal entries was carried out to identify procedural factors that had the potential to affect the data collected during this study. Five themes were identified ( Stability of group numbers, Technology, Environment, Evaluation, and Recruitment), incorporating several categories of issues for consideration. Combined with the reflections of the researcher and published experiences of others, suggested actions to minimize any potential impacts of issues which could affect interactions are presented to assist others who are contemplating this method of data collection.

Toward Theory and Technique for Online Focus Groups

2011 ◽  
pp. 193-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albino Claudio Bosio ◽  
Guendaline Graffigna ◽  
Edoardo Lozza
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Discussion Groups ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Online Focus Groups ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Different Levels

Starting from a review of current dominant points of view about online focus groups, the authors outline the results of a research project in which they compared face-to-face discussion groups with different formats of online focus groups (forum; chat; forum plus chat) in order to identify their methodological specificities. The comparison was conducted with young adults on three health-related topics with different levels of social sensitivity. Systematic analysis of the conversational and thematic characteristics of all discussion transcripts revealed interesting characteristics of the four focus group techniques considered. The results corroborate the view that the research setting influences the findings production process in qualitative research, and might be the basis for a theory of online focus group techniques that can orient the researcher in choosing the online focus group technique best suited to his or her study aims and topics.

scholarly journals Reflections on Online Focus Group Research With Low Socio-Economic Status African American Adults During COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 160940692110217
Author(s):  
Lorraine Lathen ◽  
Linnea Laestadius
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
African American Adults ◽  
Socio Economic Status ◽  
Online Focus Groups ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has sped the adoption of online data collection approaches among qualitative researchers. While videoconferencing software has been a tremendous resource for replicating key aspects of the face-to-face focus group environment, online approaches to data collection also face unique challenges. Prior work has offered insights on the value of face-to-face versus online focus groups and strategies for improving the online focus group experience for participants and moderators. However, little has been published on the unique needs of participants from low socio-economic status (SES) populations. In light of the digital divide and the ways in which COVID-19 has exacerbated existing inequalities, researchers must seriously reflect on the ways in which SES and online methods intersect. To address this gap, we present reflections on two online focus groups conducted with low SES African American adults during COVID-19 to offer recommendations on areas of concern and potential solutions for researchers to consider. Three areas stand out as particularly important for reflection: (1) participant privacy, (2) online connectivity, (3) support and time allocations. Greater attention to the impact of SES can help ensure improved opportunities for full and equitable participation, allowing the voices of those who have been marginalized to be heard more clearly.

Stance Analysis

2011 ◽  
pp. 262-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peyton Mason ◽  
Boyd Davis ◽  
Deborah Bosley
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Multivariate Techniques ◽  
Online Chat ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Online Focus Groups ◽  
Group Data ◽  
Focus Group Data ◽  
Marketing Information

In this chapter, we will first discuss what stance is and highlight how we identify and measure stance using multivariate techniques, using an ongoing example taken from an Online Financial Focus Group. We review differences in stance between online real-time focus groups and online chat, as well as between online and face-to-face focus groups; and finally, proffer examples of stance analysis in two very different online focus groups: older adults discussing financial services and teens discussing clothes. As marketers see that online focus groups offer valuable marketing information by understanding the significance of how something is said as well as what is said, their confidence in the use of online focus-group data should increase.

scholarly journals Financing entrepreneurship in times of crisis: Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on the market for entrepreneurial finance in the United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 380-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross Brown ◽  
Augusto Rocha ◽  
Marc Cowling
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Entrepreneurial Finance ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Real Time Data ◽  
Start Ups ◽  
The Impact

This commentary explores the manner in which the current COVID-19 crisis is affecting key sources of entrepreneurial finance in the United Kingdom. We posit that the unique relational nature of entrepreneurial finance may make it highly susceptible to such a shock owing to the need for face-to-face interaction between investors and entrepreneurs. The article explores this conjecture by scrutinising a real-time data source of equity investments. Our findings suggest that the volume of new equity transactions in the United Kingdom has declined markedly since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It appears that seed finance is the main type of entrepreneurial finance most acutely affected by the crisis, which typically goes to the most nascent entrepreneurial start-ups facing the greatest obstacles obtaining finance. Policy makers can utilise these real-time data sources to help inform their strategic policy interventions to assist the firms most affected by crisis events.

Using focus groups

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Related Research ◽  
Health Related Research ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Ideal Method

This chapter presents an overview of the main uses of focus groups in health research, and argues that focus groups are an ideal method for gaining access to participants’ own meanings, using with examples from health-related research.

scholarly journals Failures and success in using webcasts, discussion forums, Twitter, and email to engage older people and other stakeholders in rural ageing

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray B Jones ◽  
Janet Smithson ◽  
Catherine Hennessy
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
Online Focus Groups ◽  
Older Users ◽  
Rural Ageing

Dispersed stakeholders could use the Internet to discuss issues of concern in rural ageing but the best methods for long-term online focus groups were unclear. We explored use of webcasts, discussion forums, Twitter, and email to facilitate inter-regional inter-sectoral stakeholder discussion. Synchronicity and scheduling seemed important to get professionals and older people to engage in discussion but unfamiliar technology such as webcasts and Twitter introduced barriers. A time-limited email listserve discussion provided sufficient synchronicity while preserving the convenience of familiar technology, and was the best method of engaging geographically dispersed older users in discussions with academics and support organisations.

scholarly journals Using Message Boards to Conduct Online Focus Groups

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Deggs ◽  
Kenda Grover ◽  
Kit Kacirek
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Message Board ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Message Boards ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Geographic Dispersion ◽  
Online Focus Groups ◽  
Board System

Geographic dispersion of research subjects can make traditional face-to-face focus groups difficult if not impractical to conduct. Online focus groups have many advantages such as enabling researchers to save costs, allowing for more efficient collection of data, and allowing researchers to accommodate research subjects' schedules. However, online focus groups require greater skill on the part of the researcher and research subjects alike. This manuscript chronicles the process that we recently used to conduct an online focus group using a message board system with graduate students enrolled in an online degree program. We explain the processes that were followed in conducting our study and the rationale behind the decisions that we made as qualitative researchers. Finally, we offer guidance and insight for other qualitative researchers who wish to utilize message boards to conduct online focus groups.

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