Focusing on focus groups: lessons from a research project involving a Bangladeshi community

Abstract

This article examines the main issues and challenges associated with the use of the focus group method in a research study involving small business and entrepreneurship. The project concerned the education and training needs of a Bangladeshi community in a West Midlands city, commissioned by the local Chamber of Commerce Training and Enterprise. The article considers the advice provided in the literature on the conduct of focus groups, describes the application of that advice to gather empirical data from an ethnic community, and discusses the insights gained from the use of focus groups in these circumstances. Both the positive and negative features of the research process and outcomes are covered, and the impact of the focus group method on the successes and failures of the project is discussed.

Leveraging Interactivities on Social Networking Sites for EFL Learning

“…The participants were from the same class and acquainted with each other, which implied that they would feel totally comfortable sharing their unique experiences with the interviewer (Rodriguez et al, 2011).Their role is to be decisive about the quality of acquired qualitative data. They are supposed to understand and value the interviewees' experience or story that was shared within the group, to garner rich and authentic information (Fallon & Brown, 2002;Hennick, 2008). As for ethical concerns, all participants were informed upon undertaking this research that they were free to be excluded at his/her will as it would not harm or breach their rights.…”

Porta de entrada ou porta de saída? Fracasso escolar no ensino médio segundo estudantes e coordenadores(as) de escolas em ribeirão das neves, mg

“…As informações emanadas desse tipo de discussão podem implicar aspectos normativos e valorativos do tema (FALLON;BROWN, 2002;GATTI, 2005;MORGAN, 1996), tornando-se, portanto, uma fonte de dados (MORGAN, 1996) e passíveis de ações políticas (FALLON;BROWN, 2002).…”

Culturally Responsive Focus Groups: Reframing the Research Experience to Focus on Participants

“…The discovery that other women face similar problems or share analogous ideas is an important tool…in women's realization that their opinions are legitimate and valid. (p. 116-117) Similarly, in a study of the Bangladeshi community, Fallon and Brown (2002) concluded that creating focus groups with participants who share a common culture "can be highly advantageous…especially where ethnic minority groups are concerned" (p. 206). Participants in the study felt especially comfortable engaging in the focus groups, because facilitators shared participants' culture and experiences.…”

“…Debate also exists regarding whether focus groups yield more valuable information from friends/acquaintances versus from strangers participating in a group together (Fallon & Brown, 2002). While we believe there is value for participants interacting in a naturally occurring group environment, the established relationship between participants appears to be less important than is designing environments that speak to the cultural context of participants' identities and ways of knowing.…”

“…As interview techniques gained popularity and prominence as a valid and reliable data collection method, a discussion of "distinctive respondents" and techniques designed for particular groups ensued (Gubrium & Holstein, 2002). The current literature regarding focus groups is likewise attentive to new techniques and strategies for specific populations of participants including the value of focus groups with the following: lower socio-economic class Latina women (Madriz, 1998), the Bangladeshi community (Fallon & Brown, 2002), shy women (Minister, 1991), children (Morgan, Gibbs, Maxwell, & Britten , 2002), the poor (Farnsworth & Boon, 2010), those with physical disabilities (Balch & Mertens, 1999;Woodring, Foley, Rodo, Brown, & Hamner, 2006), the incarcerated (Pollock, 2003), health caregivers (Moody, Webb, Cheung, & Lowell, 2004;Wilmot, Legg, & Barrett, 2002), and persons who identify as gay and lesbian (Allen, 2006). Morgan (2002), in an article on the development of focus groups, stated, "the goal should be not only to use [the focus group] method, but to develop it as well" (p. 157).…”