Exchanging focus groups for individual interviews when collecting qualitative data

Focus group interviews as a data collecting strategy.

BACKGROUND Focus group interviews are a method for collecting qualitative data and have enjoyed a surge in popularity in health care research over the last 20 years. However, the literature on this method is ambiguous in relation to the size, constitution, purpose and execution of focus groups. AIM The aim of this article is to explore some of the methodological issues arising from using focu...

Suicide: qualitative data from focus group interviews with youth.

Suicide is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among people aged 15-24 years of age. This paper illustrates the use of focus groups with young people to enhance knowledge of ways to address youth suicide. Analysis of the findings identified three themes perceived by participants as being warning signs of a suicidal friend (personality changes, risk-taking behaviour and unusual actions). ...

Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): a 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups.

BACKGROUND Qualitative research explores complex phenomena encountered by clinicians, health care providers, policy makers and consumers. Although partial checklists are available, no consolidated reporting framework exists for any type of qualitative design. OBJECTIVE To develop a checklist for explicit and comprehensive reporting of qualitative studies (in depth interviews and focus groups)...

Focus Groups as Qualitative Research

A Qualitative Framework for Collecting and Analyzing Data in Focus Group Research

Despite the abundance of published material on conducting focus groups, scant specific information exists on how to analyze focus group data in social science research. Thus, the authors provide a new qualitative framework for collecting and analyzing focus group data. First, they identify types of data that can be collected during focus groups. Second, they identify the qualitative data analys...