Collecting Data
The purpose of this qualitative data collection method is to understand community norms or a range of opinions on a specific issue.
What is a focus group discussion?
This section of an interview or focus group discussion guide consists of questions designed to collect the core information that will help answer the research question.
What are the Key Questions?
This person should do the overwhelming majority of the talking during an interview.
Who is the participant or interviewee?
The team that conducts a focus group discussion is comprised of these two roles.
What are the moderator and the notetaker?
The type of observation used to collect qualitative data largely depends on the degree to which the researcher will do this.
What is participate in the activities they are observing?
The purpose of this qualitative data collection method is to understand individuals’ perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and experiences.
What is an in-depth interview?
This section of an interview or focus group discussion guide provides information about the purpose of the study and ethical considerations.
What is the Introduction?
During an in-depth interview, the interviewer and the interviewee must build a trustful relationship through this process.
What is establishing or building rapport?
A structure of a focus group discussion guide (as well as an interview guide) frequently takes this shape.
What is a funnel?
This tool is used by the researcher to create a written record of people, places, and activities while conducting observations.
What are field notes?
The purpose of this qualitative data collection method is to understand how people behave and interact in certain social settings.
What is an observation?
This section of an interview or focus group discussion guide consists of a few general questions that are often related to an overall reflection on the interview topic or the interviewee’s thoughts about the future.
What are Closing Questions?
These are the two overall types of probes that an interviewer may use to elicit more detail from a participant.
What are motivational probes and topical probes?
These are the two most important factors that influence group rapport during a focus group discussion.
What are homogeneity and familiarity?
This tool is used by the researcher to record their own thoughts, reactions, and interpretations while conducting observations.
What is a field diary?
Regardless of whether a qualitative researcher selects interviews, focus group discussions, or observations as their method for obtaining data, the sample size should be determined by this point in data collection.
What is saturation -- the point in data collection when no new issues emerge and any additional data becomes redundant?
This section of an interview or focus group discussion guide consists of questions that are broadly related to the research question but are mostly designed to help build rapport.
What are Opening Questions?
Rather than exploring personal narratives, this special type of in-depth interview focuses on understanding an issue through the perspective of someone with specific expertise on the topic or context.
What is a key informant interview?
Like in-depth interview questions, focus group discussion questions should be clear and short, open-ended, one-dimensional, free of jargon, and written in a conversational style. However, focus group discussion questions differ from in-depth interview questions in one of these three key ways.
What are focus group discussion questions should be non-personal, aim to promote discussion, or be fewer in number overall (~12 to 15 questions)?
These are the three components of observing body language.
What are facial expressions, posture, and gestures?
Across all three methods we have discussed, a key strength of qualitative data collection is that it is cyclical, which means this.
What is inductively refining data collection instruments and strategies based on inferences draw from the data itself?
This is the primary purpose of an interview or focus group discussion guide.
What is acting as a memory aide or checklist that helps to guide the interview?
This is how questions on an interview guide are related to the overarching research question.
What is questions on the interview guide operationalize concepts within the research question?
A common misconception about focus group discussion is that they are just a way to conduct in-depth interviews with multiple participants. However, focus group discussions are not appropriate for collecting individual-level data because of any of these three reasons.
What is serial questioning of each participant will stifle group discussion? OR What is the group environment lacks confidentiality? OR What is focus group data is the product of group interactions, which are not representative of individuals.
Researchers inherently influence all methods of data collection, but one concern that is particularly pronounced when conducting observations is people changing their behavior in response to the presence of the researcher, a phenomenon also known as this.
What is the Hawthorne effect?