Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending

1. 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

2. May 7, 2005 ES V kick-off meeting Overview of issues • 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? Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending

3. May 7, 2005 ES V kick-off meeting General principles • 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 Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending

4. May 7, 2005 ES V kick-off meeting What is a FG useful for? • 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. Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending

5. May 7, 2005 ES V kick-off meeting Who should be included in a FG? • 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. Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending

6. May 7, 2005 ES V kick-off meeting How to prepare for a FG? • 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.  Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending

7. May 7, 2005 ES V kick-off meeting Steps to conducting a FG (1) • 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.) Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending

8. May 7, 2005 ES V kick-off meeting Facilitating and moderating a FG (1) Introduction • 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. Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending

9. May 7, 2005 ES V kick-off meeting Facilitating and moderating a FG (2) Communication style and techniques • 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;  Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending

10. May 7, 2005 ES V kick-off meeting Facilitating and moderating a FG (3) Communication style and techniques • 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! Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending

11. May 7, 2005 ES V kick-off meeting Facilitating and moderating a FG (4) Practical issues • 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. Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending

12. May 7, 2005 ES V kick-off meeting How to manage data from a FG? • 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. Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending

13. May 7, 2005 ES V kick-off meeting Advantages from FG? • 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. Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending

14. May 7, 2005 ES V kick-off meeting Disadvantages from FG? • 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. Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending

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

16. May 7, 2005 ES V kick-off meeting Literature used to prepare this overview • 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. Supported by the European Commission, grant agreement pending