1. FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS
And
KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS
Amol Dongre MD MPS
Department of Community Medicine
MGIMS, Sewagram

2. What is focus group discussion?
Why focus group
When to use FGD
Composition & Selection of participants
Role of moderator
Role of note-taker
Guidelines for the FGD Participants
Process of FGDs and Essential steps
Strengths and Limitations of FGD

3. What is focus group discussion?
Technique of gathering data and insights from discussions and interactions among participants in a group, facilitated by a moderator
Exchange of ideas among participants
Focused, but flexibly structured discussion
Ideal for exploring norms, expectations, values and beliefs and NOT personal experiences

4. What is focus group discussion? Contd…
FGD is a group discussion of approximately 6-12 persons guided by a facilitator, during which the members of the group talk freely and spontaneously about a certain topic.
FGD thus aims to be more than question-answer interaction where in the members are also encouraged to discuss the topic among themselves.

5. When to use FGD Focus research & develop relevant research hypotheses
Formulate appropriate questions for more structure
and large scale surveys
Help understand and solve unexpected problems in
interventions
Develop appropriate messages for health education
programs
Explore controversial topics

6. Why focus group Defining the research concept Developing hypothesis
Generating Vocabularies
Framing a questions in large scale surveys
Providing supplementary information related
to the community's knowledge, beliefs,
attitudes and behavior on specific issues

7. Composition and Selection of Participants
8-10 individuals in a group willing participants
NOT individuals who will dominate the
discussion or inhibit the participation of
others in the group
Participants are selected in advance by
either random sampling or by any alternative
criteria
The members are homogenous viz. regarding
major social divisions and/or background
characteristics. Age and sex often
considered for assigning participants into
different groups

8. Composition and Selection of Participants contd…
Inform about the topic of exploration
through personal experience or interest
arising from a particular role or position
Date, time and venue of the FGD is fixed
in advance. A time limit of one and one-
half hours is desirable and two hours is
the maximum
Anonymity of the participants is preferred
Members of the research team: a moderator (facilitator), a note-taker & recorder

9. Guidelines for the FGD Participants
One participants speak at one
time and clearly
Try gather everyone's
perspective/opinion
Encourage participation

10. Process of FGDs FGD guidelines to be pre-tested in advance
More than one FGD is to be conducted
Moderator /note-takers should be trained
in advance
Recruitment of the participants (help from
key informant, homogeneity)

11. Process of FGDs Contd... Should also be recorded beside note-taking
Ideally FGD should be of 90 minutes duration
Make physical arrangements for setting, equipment, food and drinks, and child care if necessary
Selection of location and time for FGD

12. Essential steps – starting the discussion
Collect socio-demographic details informally
Summarize the purpose of the study
Describe the focus group discussion process
- No right or wrong answers
- All should participate
- All should respect the opinions of others
Make sure everyone understood the informed consent
Ask participants to guard the confidentiality of others in the groups

13. Essential steps - conducting the discussion
Begin with warm-up questions
Be aware of who is talking and who is not
- Do not allow one or two individuals to dominate
Use broad, open-ended questions
- Avoid yes or no or short answer questions
Always probe
Record body language, nonverbal communication

14. Essential steps - documenting discussion
Expand notes of the discussion
Record in writing any nonverbal data
Don’t imply judgement
Add researcher’s comments in parentheses
Finalise field notes as soon as possible after the discussion
If tape recorder is used, complement taped transcripts with field notes in preparing final transcripts

15. Role of moderator Introduce the session Encourage discussion
Creating a climate for open exchange
- explaining the goal of discussion
- setting ground rules
- encouraging participation by all
Guiding the discussion
- introducing topics with main questions
- eliciting detailed information with follow up questions
- probing meaning of responses
- Should not dominate the discussion
Keeping the discussion focused
Encourage involvement of every member
Monitor involvement & interaction among participants

16. Role of moderator contd…
While maintaining the core theme of the discussion
ensure flow of conversation.
Avoid being placed in the role of expert
Control of rhythm of the meeting, but avoid an
unobtrusive way
Take time to end the meeting to summarize and check for
agreement / disagreement on important topics
Build rapport, empathize
Thank each of the participants personally for their
participation
Monitor involvement & interaction among participants
Encourage involvement of every member

17. Role of note-taker / Recorder
Items to be recorded
Date, time and place
Number, names and description of each participant
General description of group dynamics (level of participation, presence of dominant participant, level of interest etc.) including non-verbal interaction among the participants
Opinions of the participants including key statements
Emotional aspects (reluctance, strong feelings attached to a certain topic) including any non-verbal communication
Taking notes without disturbing the discussion including identity of the speakers
Spontaneous relevant discussion during breaks or after the formal session / discussion
Works as back up to the moderator by drawing attention to missed comments from participants and missed topics

18. Designing the Interview Guide for FGD
Must provide the moderator with he topics and issues that are, to the extent possible, to be covered at some point during the discussions
The guide is loosely structure and does not suggest potential responses.
The questions should be unstructured, unbiased and non-threatening
Progression of the topics in the guidelines should be logical and should move from general topic to specific topic
The guide should not overly done or have too many questions (preferably should have no more than 20 questions / topics)
Pretesting of guidelines with several mock sessions is essential

19. Strengths and Limitations of the FGD
Should not be used for quantitative purpose, e.g.
the testing of hypotheses or generalization of
findings for larger areas that may need more
elaborate surveys
FGD can be used to complement findings from the
surveys and other qualitative techniques as using it
alone may be risky as the people tend to centre their
opinion on the most common ones on Social Norms.
FGD may not be very useful on sensitive topics
where members may hesitate to air their feelings
and experiences freely (sexual behavior/HIV AIDS)
Evaluator has less control than individual interview
Groups are often difficult to assemble

20. Dos and Don’ts of the Moderator
Make everyone feel welcome
Speak in a loud and clear voice
Be flexible
Include everyone in the discussion
Leave enough time for people to
answer question (enjoy the
silence)
Vary your style of asking questions
to get a variety of answers
Probe for clarity
Allow diverse opinion to emerge
Talk too much
Let one person dominate
Fail to stay neutral on the issue
More than one question at a time
Ask ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ questions (instead
ask open ended questions)
Go over the allotted time
Forget to thank people for participating

21. Exercise Select a study topic
Prepare three questions for FGD discussion

22. Key Informant Interviews Definition:
“Qualitative, in-depth, flexible interviews with persons who know what is going in the community, “experts” (knowledgeable) about a topic on which we want to get information.”
Note that the key informant interview is usually not about that person herself, but about the topic on which she has information.

23. Objectives
The purpose of Key Informant Interviews is to collect information from a wide range of people- including community leaders, professionals, or residents-who have first hand knowledge about the community , and our research topic.
To get general information about the local community
These community experts, with their particular knowledge and understanding, can provide insight on the nature of problems and give recommendations for solution.

24. When to conduct KII
To get more candid or in-depth answers. Focus Group dynamic may prohibit you from candidly discussing sensitive issues or getting the depth of information you need. Sometimes group dynamic can prevent some participants from voicing their opinions about sensitive topics

25. Choosing Key Informants
KI must have first- hand knowledge about community, its residents and issues or problems you are trying to investigate
KI can be a wide range of people, agency representatives, community residents, community leaders, or community business owners.
ex., Religious leaders, government officials, young mothers, youth, minority population etc.
Should have a diverse mix of key informants to ensure variety of perspectives

26. Exercise Select a study topic
Identify key informant for your research topic

27. Thank You for your patience