Enough is Enough! When to stop focus group recruitment Hannah Heath Department of Psychology, University of Bath

Overview My research Recruitment Guidance The challenges I faced How I made my decision to stop!

My Research How young people make sense of their experiences supporting a friend who self-harms – What is the impact of self-harm upon a friendship? – How do friends understand this impact? Conducted 3-4 focus groups of between 4 and 6 participants Went to a meeting discussing challenges of conducting qualitative research – Stop – Carry on – Try different forms of recruitment Left me thinking, when should I stop recruiting?

Sensitive Topics: Additional Issues Traditionally not necessarily discussed in focus groups Extra issues I had to take into consideration: – May feel uncomfortable – Still a taboo topic – Feel like they are “betraying” their friend

When do you stop?: Participants Six to twelve (Asbury, 1995) Three to six (Barbour & Kitzinger, 1999) More than six will inhibit disclosure (Willig, 2008) Large numbers may not be appropriate for sensitive topics (Braun & Clarke, 2013)

When do you stop?: Focus Groups “Valuable information can be obtained from even a single focus group session” (Caplan, 1990, p. 529) “ A single group or two may be sufficient.” (Stewart, Shamdashi & Rook, 2007, p.60) “From just three or four groups, to over fifty ” (Barbour & Kitzinger, 1999, p. 7) “ Six or at most ten focus groups” (Olssen, 2012, p. 77) “There is no magic number ” (Barbour, 2007, p.61)

Where did this leave me? Confused In the murky waters So, I went on a quest!

When do you stop? Research Question Complexity Comparisons? Homogeneity of groups Wanting more diversity? (Braun & Clarke, 2013)

When do you stop? Practical Limitations Participant pool Participant availability Time limitations (Barbour & Kitzinger, 1999)

When do you stop? Saturation When data collection stops producing new insights, perspectives or accounts When there’s no other groups highlighted that might be interesting to interview (Asbury, 1995)

How did I use this? Research Question Complexity: – Was my research question appropriate for many more focus groups? – Would more focus groups necessarily help answer them? What practical limitations stood in my way? – Time and being able to write the data up in a meaningful and rigorous way – Whether I could find anyone willing to discuss their experiences of such a sensitive topic Saturation: – What was similar – Was there anything new coming up? What was my gut feeling? – I felt uncomfortable using only four focus groups

What did I end up doing? I conducted a fifth focus group 6 participants Challenging It was the right decision

What knowledge have I gained from this? Nothing is straight forward Making a judgement call is incredibly difficult To trust my own opinion – To listen, read and pay attention to the advice and guidance of others – But to be completely aware of how appropriate it is for my own research

“Take Home Message” There is no right, or wrong, reason to stop recruitment The decision is ultimately down to you, your experiences and what feels right for the project “Maintaining a flexible approach to the sampling frame” (Barbour & Kitzinger, 1999, p. 7)

Questions

References Asbury, J. E. (1995). Overview of focus group research. Qualitative health research, 5 (4), Barbour, R. (2007). Doing Focus Groups. London: SAGE Barbour, P. & Kitzinger, J. (1999). Developing Focus Group Research: Politics, Theory & Practice. London: SAGE Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. London: SAGE Caplan, S. (1990). Using focus group methodology for ergonomic design. Ergonomics, 33 (5), Olssen, M. (1996). Radical constructivism and its failings: Anti ‐ realism and individualism. British Journal of Educational Studies, 44 (3), Stewart, D., Shamdasani, P. & Rook, D. W. (2007). Recruiting Focus Group Participants and Designing the Interview Guide. In D. Stewart, P. Shamdasani & D. W. Rook (Ed) ( 2007 ) Focus groups Theory and Practice (2 nd Ed.). Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, CA. Willig, C. (2008). Introducing Qualitative Research in Psychology (2 nd Ed.). Open University Press: Berkshire. Pattern image: animation-retro-pattern-of-geometric-shapes-colorful-mosaic-banner-geometric.jpg&imgrefurl= pattern/&h=224&w=400&tbnid=lOLtM9z3_8Zb4M:&zoom=1&docid=flTK0ciz05uurM&ei=6AvBVPb4FYW67gaQhYHwBw&tbm=isch&ved=0CFgQMyguMC 4 Question image: gif&imgrefurl= question/&h=482&w=482&tbnid=K4zbJXijeYXwjM:&zoom=1&docid=8_WoMkrmE4IDoM&ei=S_G8VNKaJsqvU72ggPgL&tbm=isch&ved=0CGIQMyhaMFo 4rAI Murky waters image: m/%23!/category/?path%3D/Textures/water/water&h=450&w=600&tbnid=Lzp51pTy5_Mk7M:&zoom=1&docid=h49cI- uoH4oujM&ei=bfK8VIWSCsuvU8OMgLgK&tbm=isch&ved=0CEYQMygcMBw Canoe image: 01.jpg&imgrefurl= company/&h=623&w=921&tbnid=oYNGrwbtJYTFRM:&zoom=1&docid=z62Y3WsIvvqDgM&ei=MPS8VN3QDMG6Ur- Tg6gM&tbm=isch&ved=0CHsQMyg8MDw