Zooming into Focus Groups: Strategies for Qualitative Research in the Era of Social Distancing

Abstract

Qualitative research methods are important and have become increasingly prominent in medical education and research. The reason is simple: many pressing questions in these fields require qualitative approaches to elicit nuanced insights and additional meaning beyond standard quantitative measurements in surveys or observatons. Among the most common qualitative data collection methods are structured or semistructured in-person interviews and focus groups, in which participants describe their experiences relevant to the research question at hand. In the era of physical and social distancing because of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, little guidance exists for strategies for conducting focus groups or semistructured interviews. Here we describe our experience with, and recommendations for, conducting remote focus groups and/or interviews in the era of social distancing. Specifically, we discuss best practice recommendations for researchers using video teleconferencing programs to continue qualitative research during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contextual and multifactorial influence on perception of safety from crime among selected Malaysians

“…The focus group online discussions were facilitated by Google Meet apps. The Google Meet apps was chosen because the researchers and the participants were familiar with it (Santosh et al 2020). This app is easy to download into smartphones and very user friendly.…”

Methodological Insights From a Virtual, Team-Based Rapid Qualitative Method Applied to a Study of Providers’ Perspectives of the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Hospital-To-Home Transitions

“…The selection of an appropriate qualitative method is based on multiple factors, including study aims and objectives, resources and contextual factors ( Hanley, 2011 ). Physical distancing restrictions and time constraints during the COVID-19 pandemic have forced qualitative researchers to rethink approaches to both data collection and analysis used within traditional qualitative research ( Tremblay et al, 2021 ); many shifted to virtual qualitative data collection and analysis approaches ( Archibald et al., 2019 ; Gray et al, 2020 ; Roberts et al, 2021 ; Santhosh et al, 2021 ). The concept of “virtual” is broad and can include various modalities, such as phone and videoconferencing software ( Crawford & Serhal, 2020 ; Taylor, 2021 ; World Health Organization, 2021 ).…”

“…The concept of “virtual” is broad and can include various modalities, such as phone and videoconferencing software ( Crawford & Serhal, 2020 ; Taylor, 2021 ; World Health Organization, 2021 ). With regard to data collection, a knowledge base has emerged on virtual qualitative data collection during the pandemic context ( Archibald et al, 2019 ; Davies et al, 2020 ; Gray et al, 2020 ; Santhosh et al, 2021 ). This literature indicates the need to attend to unique factors with respect to virtual data collection (e.g.…”

“…As the use of virtual qualitative methods continues to grow, there is a need to advance current knowledge through experimentation with different formats of virtual data collection and analysis ( Lobe et al, 2020 ). However, compared to virtual data collection, there is a recognized need for more guidance on performing qualitative analysis virtually ( Giesen & Roeser, 2020 ; Roberts et al, 2021 ; Santhosh et al, 2021 ).…”

Lessons Learned from Online Qualitative Data Collection in an International Collaborative Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…An online survey was conducted for an international collaborative study from a remote area during the COVID-19 pandemic because the researchers needed to consider non-face-to-face methods of conducting an international collaborative study in situations in which social distance must be maintained. Advances in information technology (IT) have made it possible to collect qualitative data without being in the field by using online methodology [1]. However, there are few specific guidelines or manuals for online qualitative data collection.…”