Focus group techniques: The use of photographs, images, texts, symbols, and props

Situations in which it is used Interview → seeking answers or explanation to questions Focus group → seeking interaction and discussion Not always the answer Arriving at the answer can be more interesting than the answer itself “Dialogical Research” (Padilla 1993)  Discussion is revelatory  Discussion provides insight into deeper meaning

Definition of method: Focus groups techniques Devices used to elicit discussion that help provide a deeper understanding, additional insight, or bring about wider range of issues for your research topic “Focusing exercises” (Bloor et al 2001) “Discussion Aids” (Stewart et al 2006) 'Participatory' Methods Props Tasks Visual Aids and materials

Why might you want to use these aids or techniques? Advantages: stimulate interest; engage participants Trigger responses Keep participants on task (non-verbal cues) Exploratory – use before more structured parts of session Balance – exploratory vs. task setting Eases comparison across many focus groups (constants) Provides different ways to participate Gives participants some security Re-shapes dynamic between researcher/participants by empowering subjects FUN!!!

Wide Range of Techniques Adaptive and flexible to best fit the needs of your project and research goals Props – Printed cards (key words, topics, themes); photos, maps, texts, documents Vignettes – hypothetical cases and scenarios News Bulletin photo activity Storytelling – how were participants involved with X Participatory mapping Mind mapping Research findings – Do they agree/disagree? First thoughts Word association/ sentence completion Ranking

Mind Mapping

GIS Interviews Semi-structured Structured Open ended Participant Observation Focus Groups Remote Sensing Questionnaire Survey

Participatory Mapping

Disadvantages / Issues to consider Props can be a distraction – keep out of the way until you need them Images/ props can limit or shape the type of responses (need to be critical of the items you select) Group size one group Multiple small groups International contexts Access to items Cultural context of items

Material Environment of Focus Groups “all affect interpersonal interaction” (Stewart et al 2006) Drinks and snacks (non-alcoholic) Name tags Agenda Room locations, size, arrangement Interpersonal space

Visual Methodologies How are places created and used in visual imagery? How do people view the world? How does imagery create cultural meaning? Analysis of films, photos, promotional materials, computer graphics Encoding, decoding, and interpretation of production and consumption of cultural meaning

Examples demonstrating method Kesby, Mike Participatory diagramming: deploying qualitative methods through an action research epistemology. In Area 32, no. 4: Meinhof, U. and D. Galasinski Border Discourse. Changing Identities, Changing Nations, Changing Stories in European Border Communities. A State-of-the-Art Report. European Commission.

Key Sources on method Bloor, Michael, Jane Frankland, Michelle Thomas, and Kate Stewart Focus groups in social research (introducing qualitative methods series). Thousand Oaks, CA : SAGE Publication Greenbaum, Thomas Moderating focus groups : a practical guide for group facilitation. Thousand Oaks, CA : SAGE Publication Padilla, R Using dialogical research methods in group interviews. In Successful focus groups: advancing the state of the art, ed. David Morgan. Newberry Park, CA: SAGE Publications Stewart, David W., Prem N. Shamdasani, Dennis W. Rook Focus groups : theory and practice, 2 nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA : SAGE Publication

Sources on Visual Methodologies Bartram, R Geography and interpretation of visual imagery. In Key methods in geography, ed. Clifford, Nicholas J. and Fill Valentine. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. Pink, S Doing visual ethnography: images, media and representation in research, 2nd. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. Rose, G Teaching visualized geographies: towards a methodology for the interpretation of visual materials. In Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 20, no. 3: 281 – 294 Rose, G Visual methodologies: an introduction to the interpretation of visual materials, 2nd. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. Young, L. and Hazel Barrett Adapting visual methods: action research with Kampala street children. Area 33, no. 2: