scholarly journals A case study on the use of focus groups as participatory research

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Biello
Author(s):  
Catarina LELIS

The brand is a powerful representational and identification-led asset that can be used to engage staff in creative, sustainable and developmental activities. Being a brand the result of, foremost, a design exercise, it is fair to suppose that it can be a relevant resource for the advancement of design literacy within organisational contexts. The main objective of this paper was to test and validate an interaction structure for an informed co-design process on visual brand artefacts. To carry on the empirical study, a university was chosen as case study as these contexts are generally rich in employee diversity. A non-functional prototype was designed, and walkthroughs were performed in five focus groups held with staff. The latter evidenced a need/wish to engage with basic design principles and high willingness to participate in the creation of brand design artefacts, mostly with the purposeof increasing its consistent use and innovate in its representation possibilities, whilst augmenting the brand’s socially responsible values.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 160940692199687
Author(s):  
Courtney A. Brown ◽  
Anna C. Revette ◽  
Sarah D. de Ferranti ◽  
Holly B. Fontenot ◽  
Holly C. Gooding

This methodologic paper aims to update researchers working with adolescents and young adults on the potentials and pitfalls associated with web-based qualitative research. We present a case study of synchronous web-based focus groups with 35 adolescents and young women ages 15–24 years old recruited from a clinical sample for a mixed methods study of heart disease awareness. We contrast this with two other studies, one using asynchronous web-based focus groups with 30 transgender youth ages 13 to 24 years old and another using synchronous web-based focus groups with 48 young men who have sex with men ages 18 to 26 years old, both recruited via social media. We describe general and logistical considerations, technical platform considerations, and ethical, regulatory, and research considerations associated with web-based qualitative research. In an era of technology ubiquity and dependence, researchers should consider web-based focus groups a potential qualitative research tool, especially when working with youth.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4790
Author(s):  
Brenda Imelda Boroel Cervantes ◽  
José Alfonso Jiménez Moreno ◽  
Salvador Ponce Ceballos ◽  
José Sánchez Santamaría

The educational journey in postgraduate programs is linked to the actors, processes and results, setting the tone for different approaches from the perspective of characterization, development and evaluation. It is summarized in a sequential manner in four stages: entry to the program, progress within the program, and the final educational stretch, where the instructor/tutor plays an important part and obtaining the diploma or degree. The goal of this research was to evaluate, using the students’ perceptions, formative experiences as a result of their academic journey in postgraduate programs within education in Northern Mexico. We have used a case study based on the focus groups technique, applied to a sample of cases comprised of students enrolled in their final educational stage. The information was analyzed using inductive data analysis. The main results were grouped into three meta categories: (1) development of professional skills for the successful design of the intervention proposal, which unfolded into four categories; (2) the role of the tutor during the formative process, consisting of four analysis categories and (3) contributions of the teaching staff in their profession, consisting of two categories. These trends also evidence the formative abundance in the personal, academic and social training context of the students.


2020 ◽  
pp. 146879412096873
Author(s):  
Melike Peterson

This paper discusses some opportunities and challenges of using objects in focus groups, to explore multicultural encounters and experiences of living together. Drawing on feminist approaches to human embodiment, it argues that material approaches hold the potential to investigate the embodied and relational experiences of encounters with/across difference of diverse participants in sensitive ways. The materials were touchable objects such as pens and papers that help connect across differences in identity, experience and opinion, share experiences and stories with unknown others, communicate across (non)verbal barriers, misunderstandings and tensions, and accommodate moments of silence and reflection. Originally meant to ease and structure discussion, objects emerged as a central ‘medium’ or ‘instrument’ of research encounters through which participants can capture, express and share complex narratives about encountering others and multicultural living, underscoring the use of objects as an impactful method in feminist and participatory research.


2021 ◽  
pp. 174619792110413
Author(s):  
Siamack Zahedi ◽  
Rhea Jaffer ◽  
Camille L Bryant ◽  
Kala Bada

The development of student civic engagement has featured in Indian educational policies for decades as a critical goal of schooling. However, the narrowness of the prescribed K-12 curricula, and the intense focus on competitive exams, do not support such an outcome. To overcome this problem, ABC School in India decided to pilot service-learning in its middle-school classroom. The idea was to assess the effects of such a program on students and the community’s welfare. Analysis of data from surveys, focus groups, and interviews showed that the service-learning project might have supported increased civic engagement in some students while also enhancing the welfare of the community served. No prior peer-reviewed empirical studies have been published on the nature and effects of service-learning at schools in India.


Author(s):  
Ricard Huerta

Museari is an online museum dedicated to upholding human rights and sexual diversity through art, history, and education. Museari was born in 2015 and since then more than 70 exhibitions have been presented. This paper analyzes Museari's interest in teacher training, something that has been especially positive during the Covid-19 pandemic. The objective of the research is to reflect on the opportunity to use a virtual museum to address issues of art and education. For data collection, we used assessment instruments specific to the case study, such as diagnoses, discussions, focus groups, and participant observation. We highlight museum’s positive reception by the students, particularly the role it plays in overcoming stereotypes and conventional taboos to achieve inclusive environments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 73-89
Author(s):  
Margarita Kefalaki ◽  
◽  
Michael Nevradakis ◽  
Qing Li ◽  
◽  
...  

COVID-19 has greatly impacted all aspects of our everyday lives. A global pandemic of this magnitude, even as we now emerge from strict measures such as lockdowns and await the potential for a ‘new tomorrow’ with the arrival of vaccines, will certainly have long-lasting consequences. We will have to adapt and learn to live in a different way. Accordingly, teaching and learning have also been greatly impacted. Changes to academic curricula have had tremendous cross-cultural effects on higher education students. This study will investigate, by way of focus groups comprised of students studying at Greek universities during the pandemic, the cross-cultural effects that this ‘global experience’ has had on higher education, and particularly on students in Greek universities. The data collection tools are interviews and observations gathered from focus groups.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-45
Author(s):  
Claire Cornock ◽  
Alex Crombie

 We present a case study on the introduction of video assignments into Level 4 (year 1) and 6 (year 3) modules within a BSc Mathematics degree. The students were required to provide verbal explanations within a video about some written steps in their argument. We present the details of the assignments and assessment criteria. The introduction of the video assignments was evaluated through focus groups. We present a number of advantages and disadvantages from the students’ perspective when they compared the methods of providing answers through videos, presentations and written work. In particular, we present information on confidence levels, the ability to spot mistakes, skills development and the usefulness for job applications. We provide some practical suggestions for anyone thinking about introducing their own video assignment.   


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document