Survey Research, Focus Groups, and Information Technology in Research and Practice

2003 ◽  
pp. 221-251
Author(s):  
Michael L. Vasu ◽  
Ellen Storey Vasu
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Survey Research ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Audience Response ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Survey Research Methods ◽  
Audience Response Technology ◽  
The Web

The integration of computing into survey research and focus groups in research and practice in public administration and related fields is the focus of this chapter. Coverage applies to other social science disciplines as well. This chapter reviews uses of computers in computer-assisted information collection (CASIC), computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI), computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI), and transferring survey research methods onto the Web. A second portion of the chapter gives special attention to continuous audience response technology (CART). An example of a citizen survey focused on growth issues combined with a focus group dealing with the same topic in Cary, North Carolina, is also discussed.

Computers, Survey Research, and Focus Groups in Public Administration Research and Practice

2013 ◽  
pp. 196-219
Author(s):  
Michael L. Vasu ◽  
Ellen Storey Vasu
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Survey Research ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Audience Response ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Survey Research Methods ◽  
Audience Response Technology

The integration of computing into survey research and focus groups in research and practice in public administration and related fields is the focus of this chapter. Coverage applies to other social science disciplines as well. This chapter reviews uses of computers in computer-assisted survey research (CASR), computer-assisted interviewing, computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI), computerassisted personal interviewing (CAPI), and transferring survey research methods onto the Internet. A second portion of the chapter gives special attention to continuous audience response technology (CART). An example of a citizen survey focused on growth issues combined with a focus group dealing with the same topic in Cary, North Carolina, is also provided. <BR>

Computers and Social Survey Research for Public Administration

2011 ◽  
pp. 265-292
Author(s):  
Michael L. Vasu ◽  
Ellen Storey Vasu ◽  
Al O. Ozturk
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Survey Research ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Survey Error ◽  
Survey Research Methods

The integration of social survey methods into public-administration research and practice is the focus of this chapter. Coverage applies to other social science disciplines as well. This chapter reviews the use of computers in computer-assisted survey research (CASR), computer-assisted interviewing, computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI), computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI), and survey research methods. The chapter takes the perspective of total survey error.

Digital Teens

2013 ◽  
pp. 129-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Maria Cavagnero ◽  
Maria Adelaide Gallina ◽  
Renato Grimaldi
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Leisure Time ◽  
Related Services ◽  
The Web

The aim of the research is to understand how much the use of the Web and its related services affect the lives of young people, as well as to reflect on the existence, or not, of a gap between students of secondary schools of first and second level. The research was carried out using a “focus group,” and it involved a total of 105 students, divided into two groups, of first and second level at secondary school. Their age ranged between 11 and 19. Each student had also had to answer to a questionnaire. By conducting focus groups, the authors investigated how young people use of the Web and how the tools of interaction affect different aspects of their lives: school, leisure time, and family.

scholarly journals Use of Web Conferencing Technology for Conducting Online Focus Groups Among Young People With Lived Experience of Suicidal Thoughts: Mixed Methods Research (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Han ◽  
Michelle Torok ◽  
Nyree Gale ◽  
Quincy JJ Wong ◽  
Aliza Werner-Seidler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Prevention Research ◽  
Web Conferencing ◽  
Suicidal Thoughts ◽  
Online Focus Groups ◽  
The Web

BACKGROUND There is an increasing interest in engaging people with lived experience in suicide prevention research. However, young people with suicidal thoughts have been described as a “hard-to-include” population due to time, distance, stigma, and social barriers. OBJECTIVE This study aims to investigate whether conducting synchronous Web conferencing technology–based online focus groups (W-OFGs) is a feasible method to engage young people with lived experience of suicidal thoughts in suicide prevention research. METHODS Young people aged between 16 and 25 years and living in Sydney, Australia, were recruited through flyers, emails, and social media advertisements. The W-OFGs were established using a Web conferencing technology called GoToMeeting. Participants’ response rate, attendance, and feedback of the W-OFGs were analyzed to determine whether the W-OFG system is feasible for suicide prevention research. Researchers’ reflections about how to effectively implement the W-OFGs were also reported as part of the results. RESULTS In the pre–W-OFG survey, 39 (97.5%) young people (n=40) chose to attend the online focus group. Among the 22 participants who responded to the W-OFG invitations, 15 confirmed that they would attend the W-OFGs, of which 11 participants attended the W-OFGs. Feedback collected from the participants in the W-OFG and the post–W-OFG survey suggested that online focus groups are acceptable to young people in suicide prevention research. Considerations for selecting the Web conferencing platform, conducting the mock W-OFGs, implementing the risk management procedure, inviting participants to the W-OFGs, and hosting and moderating the W-OFGs as well as a few potential ethical and pragmatic challenges in using this method are discussed in this study. CONCLUSIONS The Web conferencing technology provides a feasible replacement for conventional methods, particularly for qualitative research involving vulnerable populations and stigmatized topics including suicide prevention. Our results indicate that this modality is an optimal alternative to engage young people in the focus group discussion. Future studies should compare the data collected from the Web conferencing technology and conventional face-to-face methods in suicide prevention research to determine if these two methods are equivalent in data quality from a quantitative approach.

Using Focus Groups to Improve Survey Research

1992 ◽  
Vol 13 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 72-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elinor Kelley Grusin ◽  
Gerald C. Stone
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Survey Research ◽  
Mass Communication

Mass communication researchers often ask questions that require individuals to recall past behaviors and events, but little attention has been given to how interviewers can stimulate recall. This study – applying focus group techniques – indicates survey respondents may have more to say than they initially think.

Focus Groups as a Useful Qualitative Methodology in Sport Management

1992 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Inglis
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Sport Management ◽  
Review Paper ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Focus Group Methodology ◽  
Research Questions

This review paper presents recent critiques regarding research in sport management and suggests that focus groups are a qualitative methodology particularly suited to research and practice in sport management. Features of qualitative methodology and merits of focus groups are presented. The challenge to scholars working in sport management is (a) to consider using focus-group methodology in situations where such usage will advance the understanding of and response to research questions, and (b) to consider using focus groups as a self-contained methodology or in triangulation with other methodologies.

scholarly journals Use of Web Conferencing Technology for Conducting Online Focus Groups Among Young People With Lived Experience of Suicidal Thoughts: Mixed Methods Research

10.2196/14191 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. e14191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Han ◽  
Michelle Torok ◽  
Nyree Gale ◽  
Quincy JJ Wong ◽  
Aliza Werner-Seidler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Prevention Research ◽  
Web Conferencing ◽  
Suicidal Thoughts ◽  
Online Focus Groups ◽  
The Web

Background There is an increasing interest in engaging people with lived experience in suicide prevention research. However, young people with suicidal thoughts have been described as a “hard-to-include” population due to time, distance, stigma, and social barriers. Objective This study aims to investigate whether conducting synchronous Web conferencing technology–based online focus groups (W-OFGs) is a feasible method to engage young people with lived experience of suicidal thoughts in suicide prevention research. Methods Young people aged between 16 and 25 years and living in Sydney, Australia, were recruited through flyers, emails, and social media advertisements. The W-OFGs were established using a Web conferencing technology called GoToMeeting. Participants’ response rate, attendance, and feedback of the W-OFGs were analyzed to determine whether the W-OFG system is feasible for suicide prevention research. Researchers’ reflections about how to effectively implement the W-OFGs were also reported as part of the results. Results In the pre–W-OFG survey, 39 (97.5%) young people (n=40) chose to attend the online focus group. Among the 22 participants who responded to the W-OFG invitations, 15 confirmed that they would attend the W-OFGs, of which 11 participants attended the W-OFGs. Feedback collected from the participants in the W-OFG and the post–W-OFG survey suggested that online focus groups are acceptable to young people in suicide prevention research. Considerations for selecting the Web conferencing platform, conducting the mock W-OFGs, implementing the risk management procedure, inviting participants to the W-OFGs, and hosting and moderating the W-OFGs as well as a few potential ethical and pragmatic challenges in using this method are discussed in this study. Conclusions The Web conferencing technology provides a feasible replacement for conventional methods, particularly for qualitative research involving vulnerable populations and stigmatized topics including suicide prevention. Our results indicate that this modality is an optimal alternative to engage young people in the focus group discussion. Future studies should compare the data collected from the Web conferencing technology and conventional face-to-face methods in suicide prevention research to determine if these two methods are equivalent in data quality from a quantitative approach.

59. General medicine residents' perception of the mini-CEXs

2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
S. Malhotra ◽  
R. Hatala ◽  
C.-A. Courneya
Keyword(s):  
Internal Medicine ◽  
Medical Education ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
General Medicine ◽  
Clinical History ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Medical Teacher ◽  
The Impact

The mini-CEX is a 30 minute observed clinical encounter. It can be done in the outpatient, inpatient or emergency room setting. It strives to look at several parameters including a clinical history, physical, professionalism and overall clinical competence. Trainees are rated using a 9-point scoring system: 1-3 unsatisfactory, 4-6 satisfactory and 7-9 superior. Eight months after the introduction of the mini-CEX to the core University of British Columbia Internal Medicine Residents, a one hour semi-structured focus group for residents in each of the three years took place. The focus groups were conducted by an independent moderator, audio-recorded and transcribed. Using a phenomenological approach the comments made by the focus groups participants were read independently by three authors, organized into major themes. In doing so, several intriguing common patterns were revealed on how General Medicine Residents perceive their experience in completing a mini-CEX. The themes include Education, Assessment and Preparation for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Internal Medicine exam. Resident learners perceived that the mini-CEX process provided insight into their clinical strengths and weaknesses. Focus group participants favored that the mini-CEX experience will benefit them in preparation, and successful completion of their licensing exam. Daelmans HE, Overmeer RM, van der Hem-Stockroos HH, Scherpbier AJ, Stehouwer CD, van der Vleuten CP. In-training assessment: qualitative study of effects on supervision and feedback in an undergraduate clinical rotation. Medical Education 2006; 40(1):51-8. De Lima AA, Henquin R, Thierer J, Paulin J, Lamari S, Belcastro F, Van der Vleuten CPM. A qualitative study of the impact on learning of the mini clinical evaluation exercise in postgraduate training. Medical Teacher January 2005; 27(1):46-52. DiCicco-Bloom B, Crabtree BF. The Qualitative Research Interview. Medical Education 2006; 40:314-32.

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