Chapter Fourteen - Focus Groups

1

What has psychology been slow to take up focus groups as a method of data collection?

  • Primary focus and epistemological emphasis of psychology has to date been on the individual as the 'source of data'.
  • The idea of using a group method of data collection to seek individual views and opinions in as convenient and cheap way as possible did not align with the preoccupation of psychology with scientific rigour.
  • Psychology was unable to reckon with the analytic implications of parsing out individual responses from group responses.
  • The historical emphasis of psychology on quantification and the difficulty quantifying focus group evidence was a big inhibitor of its uptake.
  • Stereotyped as a quick and dirty marketing device rather than a scientific tool.
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2

Describe and explain two epistemological stances on the constructive use of focus groups for research in psychology.

  • The essentialist stance - conventional uses of the focus group operate within this approach, which assumes that there is a 'truth' to be accessed and that some methods are better than others at getting closer to it. The focus group method is believed to elicit a broader as well as more in-depth understanding on an issue or topic, because the interaction process stimulates memories, discussion, debate, and disclosure. The emphasis here is on content.
  • The social constructionist stance - this approach assumes that focus groups are more appropriate to the analysis of processes of social interaction. In this approach the focus group is much more than a tool for accessing cognitions and meanings it is an exercise in group dynamics and the conduct of the group.
  • There is a growing tension between the essentialist and social constructionist perspectives on focus group research. Few have taken up the potential within focus group contexts for examining communication processes per se and the impact of these on meaning construction and sense-making processes.
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3

What do these two different epistemological stances imply for the design and implementation of focus group investigations?

  • The `focusing' component of focus group research may not be different; it will be the way the evidence is elicited and analysed that differs. An essentialist position may require that the 'focus' of interest is made explicit whereas the social constructionist position will mostly not want to 'frame' the discussion in any explicit way. For an investigation of 'processes' the aim of the focus group will be the research objective translated into a concrete set of questions or issues for exploration.
  • The preferred epistemological approach combined with the research question framing the investigation will heavily influence decisions about how to design and manage a focus group study, including the style of moderation that is most appropriately suited to generating the evidence being sought. The very first step in the design and planning process (sampling, number of groups, number of participants, location, etc.) is to define and clarify the issues to be investigated in terms of the exact nature of the evidence required. Both substantive and practical considerations will influence this.
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