Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending EUROSUPPORT V “Improving sexual and reproductive health of PLWH” Kick-off meeting, May 6-7, 2005 Brief Introduction to Focus Group Research

Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending General principles What is a focus group (FG) useful for? Who should be included in a FG? How to organise a FG? How to prepare for a FG? How to facilitate and moderate a FG? How to manage data from a FG? What are the advantages and disadvantages of FG? ES V kick-off meeting May 7, 2005 Overview of issues

Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending Qualitative research technique Allowing for interviewing persons collectively (it is not a group interview!) Participants should share a common experience, come from a similar background, and/or have a particular skill or knowledge FG allow for producing a lot of information quickly Appropriate for identifying and exploring beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours Qualitative data assessment for further investigation or complementary to quantitative data assessment ES V kick-off meeting May 7, 2005 General principles

Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending Focus groups usually consist of persons selected because of a common experience (background, skills, knowledge) relevant to the research topic; FG encourage participants to discuss and explore questions amongst themselves; FG can help to discover ideas and opinions that researchers may not know much about; FG can help to generate ideas and hypotheses; FG can contribute to understanding vocabulary and terminology for particular behaviour. ES V kick-off meeting May 7, 2005 What is a FG useful for?

Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending Ideally, a FG would comprise 6 to 10 (max. 12) participants; Participants should be relevant to the investigated issues and should be likely to provide the most useful information with regard to the research topic; A FG should be reasonably homogenous (common experience…but also educational level, some basic characteristics); Recruitment: Specific places, community settings, clinics…but also informal contacts and use of key- informants who may help to identify other FG participants. ES V kick-off meeting May 7, 2005 Who should be included in a FG?

Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending Draw up a topic agenda in advance (guideline); Be familiar with the guideline, as participants can loose interest in a discussion when the facilitator/moderator is poorly prepared; Running a focus-group is a skilled task; prepare yourself… Having an additional note-taker or assistant is useful; Tape-record the discussion but ask participants if that is acceptable to them. FG should not take more than 1,5 hours of discussion. ES V kick-off meeting May 7, 2005 How to prepare for a FG?

Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending Ensure that meeting room is free of interruption; The group should sit in a circle, the moderator should sit with the group (Note-takers can sit outside…); Ensure appropriate breaks (depending on length) and refreshments; Incentives for participation? Ensure that you have all materials you need (pencil, paper, tape-recorder, microphone, white-board…etc.) ES V kick-off meeting May 7, 2005 Steps to conducting a FG (1)

Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending Welcome participants and introduce yourself and assistants; Explain the purpose of conducting the FG. Reassure why notes are taken (recording). Emphasize confidentiality! Allow participants to introduce themselves to the group. ES V kick-off meeting May 7, 2005 Facilitating and moderating a FG (1) Introduction

Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending Be clear about your role: a moderator/facilitator is not a participant; Use easy to understand language familiar to the people in the FG; Empathy and positive regard are critical qualities for an effective moderator; Be a good listener; Cultivate the habit of asking “why”, “how”, and “when” to elicitate information; ES V kick-off meeting May 7, 2005 Facilitating and moderating a FG (2) Communication style and techniques

Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending Listen for inconsistent comments and probe for understanding; Do not give advice or answers you are not in a position to offer; Be ready to hear unpleasant views (but hold back your personal opinion); Summarize the discussion at appropriate points and have confirmation by the participants; At the end: Ask if anyone has anything to add; Thank participants! ES V kick-off meeting May 7, 2005 Facilitating and moderating a FG (3) Communication style and techniques

Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending Collect basic demographic information of participants (a prepared form may be used; at the end). Debrief with your assistant/note-taker; Personal impressions, non-verbal communication of participants… Tag and date any material/item that has been produced by the FG. ES V kick-off meeting May 7, 2005 Facilitating and moderating a FG (4) Practical issues

Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending Right after the FG: Summarize the key-points; Weaknesses, any topics left out? Have the discussion transcribed and translated; Any conclusions should be noted separately; Content analysis: Translated transcripts are repeatedly scrutinized for common items, which form the basis of categorisation in a framework. During content-analysis, text units are identified and the data are grouped into main categories; Useful quotes should be noted and used for the final descriptive analysis. ES V kick-off meeting May 7, 2005 How to manage data from a FG?

Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending FG produce a lot of information quickly; FG are less costly than personal interviews; FG are useful for generating research hypotheses, and identifying questions that later can be used for questionnaire development; Participants usually feel comfortable in FG because it is a form of communication found naturally in most communities and the issues discussed can be assumed to be of great importance to the participants. ES V kick-off meeting May 7, 2005 Advantages from FG?

Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending Group dynamics and power structures can influence the participants; Number of questions that can be addressed is smaller than in individual interviews; Facilitating FG requires considerable skills; Taking good notes is difficult; Transcribing is time-consuming; Results cannot be conveyed in frequencies or distribution of beliefs and behaviours. ES V kick-off meeting May 7, 2005 Disadvantages from FG?

Overview Timing Focus Group Research ES V kick-off meeting May 7, 2005

Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending Krueger RA, Morgan DL (2000). The Focus Group Kit; Volume 1-6; Sage Publications, London. Stimson GV, Donohoe MC, Fitch C, Rhodes TJ (2001). Rapid Assessment and Response Technical Guide, Version 1.0, World Health Organization: Department of Child and Adolescents Health and Development, Geneva. ES V kick-off meeting May 7, 2005 Literature used to prepare this overview