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Pedagogy On Focus Group Discussion

Presented By: Dr. Kunal Guided By: Dr. Abhay Mudey

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Contents• What is a focus group?• How is focus group discussion is conducted?• Language• What type of information dose focus group discussion produce?• How can focus groups be used in Research?• Advantages• Limitations• Latest initiatives.

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What is focus group discussion?

Definition:- It is gathering together

people from similar background or

experiences to discuss a specific topic of interest

to the researcher.

In other words• It is not a group interview

where a moderator asks the group questions & participants individually provide answers.

• It relies on a group discussion & is especially successful where the participants are able to talk to each other about the topic of interest.

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Moderator

How the focus group discussion is conducted?

• Focus involves 8 to 15 participants.

• The group participants are guided by a moderator or group facilitator, who introduces topics for discussion & helps the group to participate in lively & natural discussion amongst group.

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Continued….• An observer or note taker

records key issues raised in the session & other factors that may influence the interpretation of information.

• Observer dose noting down the responses from the group & observing & documenting any non verbal messages that could indicate how a group is feeling about the topic under discussion.

• The observer may point out questions that are not well explored, questions missed, or suggest areas that could be investigated.

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A good group discussion setup

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Language

• Focus groups may be conducted in language that is different from that of the researcher, or that in which information will be analysed & reported.

• Usually a native speaker would be used to moderate the session, especially in more formal research projects & so will need translation assistance.

• Trying to run a focus group with a direct translation of each participant to moderator reduces the flow of discussion.

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• It explore people’s beliefs, attitudes & opinions.

• It indicate the range of a community ‘s beliefs, ideas or opinions & i.e. they are valuable for gaining baseline information for project.

• They are useful in designing question guides for individual interviews & questions for structured interview schedules.

Information Produced by Focus Group Discussion

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Focus Group Discussion

Related to Tropical Diseases

Primary Health Care Other Health IssuesRelated to

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Advantages

• They produce a lot of information far more quickly & at less cost that individual interviews.

• They are excellent for obtaining information from illiterate communities.

• If the focus is used to explore relatively simple issues , it can be easily managed by people not trained in qualitative researched methods.

• Because the questioning is so flexible, it means that you may discover attitude & opinions that might not be revealed in survey questionnaire.

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Continued….

• The researcher can be present at the session which allows follow –up of responses if required.

• They are well accepted by the community as they make use of the group discussion which is a form of communication found naturally in most communities.

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Limitations

• Results from focus group cannot usually be used to make statements about the wider community , that is they can indicate a range of views & opinion, but not their distribution.

• Participants often agree with response from fellow group members (for many different reasons) & so caution is required when interpreting the results.

• The moderator who is not trained well can easily force the participants into answering questions in certain way.

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Continued….• Focus groups have limited value in exploring complex beliefs of

individuals & as a result in depth interviews are a more appropriate method for purpose.

• Focus group can print a picture of what is socially acceptable in a community rather than what is really occurring or belived.

• Those who are shy may not take part in the discussions.• Some may dominate the discussion.• There may be unequal participation of members.

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Continued….

• Some members may deviate from the subject & make the discussion irrelevant or unprofitable

• The moderator is aided by pre prepared questions guide that is used to ask very general questions that will be asked of the group .

• An observer or note taker records key issues raised in the session & other factors that may influence the interpretation of information.

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Focus Group Discussion

1. Planning program design.2. Generate information for

questionnaires.3. Pilot programs.4. Testing programs

currently used.5. Follow-up of a mail

survey.6. Changing attitudes &

health behavior of people.

USES

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Do’s and don’ts for focus group discussions1. Do ask open-ended questions (not yes-or-

no-questions) and not “why” directly2. Do arrange seating in a circle for good eye

contact3. Do show your sincerity, empathy and

interest to listen4. Do clarify guidelines and duration of

session5. Do encourage expression of real feelings

and opinions6. Do summarize the main points that

emerged7. Do thank the group for their participation8. Do let people in the group know what the

next steps in the process will be

1. Don’t use it as an opportunity to make your own points about the discussion

2. Don’t let the sessions run on too long, be realistic about the amount of questions you can ask in the time allocated

3. Don’t allow the discussion to become a discussion between two or three people in a bigger group

4. Don’t allow the discussion to become aggressive or personal.

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Latest Initiatives

FGD on Sanitisation

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Focus Group Discussion on Online shopping Scenario In Community Medicine Department

• FGD Domains:• General Opinion about the online shopping • Talk about Shopping & Discount• Salient features about the online shopping• Short comings of the shopping & online window shopping scenario• Suggestions for improvement•  • General Opinion about the online shopping • Do you know shopping can be done on online?• Can you tell how you came to know about online shopping?• How did you feel when you first heard about online shopping?• Can you elaborate how you feel when you participate in online shopping & take advantage of any discount?• Talk about Shopping/Discount/coupons • Do you like to do online shopping?• Can you comment on person talking about shopping scenario in Wardha?• What do you think about the news paper/magazines adds, news flash on internet, advertisement mail on e-mail ID & promotional SMS on phone?• What do you think about topics covered during this talk?• Are you able to follow the shopping /discount/coupons ideas messages given in this talk?•  • Salient features about the online shopping• What are all the good things about the online shopping•  • Short comings of the total online window shopping & actual shopping• What are all the things about online shopping that you don't like?•  • Suggestions for improvement• Any suggestion from your side for improvement?

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Thank You