Conducting online focus group interviews with two generations: methodological experiences and reflections from the pandemic context

Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor(a) principal: Bolin, Göran
Data de Publicação: 2023
Outros Autores: Kalmus, Veronika, Figueiras, Rita
Tipo de documento: Artigo
Idioma: eng
Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/41502
Resumo: In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, many research projects were forced to adapt their design and conduct interviews online. This paper discusses the benefits and challenges of using online focus groups with participants representing different generations and cultural and social backgrounds. Based on the researchers’ experiences and field notes from a three-country comparative project, aiming at analysing the extent to which previous experience of state surveillance impacted attitudes to commercial monitoring and tracking of online behaviour among two generational cohorts, the paper identifies seven aspects where the move from offline to online interviewing interfered with the original research design. The paper suggests that most of these interferences resulted in a need to adjust the methodology to better fit the online setting. We reflect critically upon the issues of technological preconditions and digital skills, recruitment, group size, degrees of previous acquaintance, the role of the interviewer, participants’ household status and media environment, and ethical considerations concerning privacy and data management. Based on these methodological insights, we conclude that future online focus group research would benefit from using smaller groups and adjusted moderation, flexibility in interviewing tools and channels, and new, online-specific ethical considerations when planning, executing, and analysing interviews. The paper advocates the complementarity between in-person and online focus groups as two modalities of data collection and argues for the normalization of hybrid methods.
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spelling Conducting online focus group interviews with two generations: methodological experiences and reflections from the pandemic contextFocus groupsInterviewsMethodologyQualitative researchIn the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, many research projects were forced to adapt their design and conduct interviews online. This paper discusses the benefits and challenges of using online focus groups with participants representing different generations and cultural and social backgrounds. Based on the researchers’ experiences and field notes from a three-country comparative project, aiming at analysing the extent to which previous experience of state surveillance impacted attitudes to commercial monitoring and tracking of online behaviour among two generational cohorts, the paper identifies seven aspects where the move from offline to online interviewing interfered with the original research design. The paper suggests that most of these interferences resulted in a need to adjust the methodology to better fit the online setting. We reflect critically upon the issues of technological preconditions and digital skills, recruitment, group size, degrees of previous acquaintance, the role of the interviewer, participants’ household status and media environment, and ethical considerations concerning privacy and data management. Based on these methodological insights, we conclude that future online focus group research would benefit from using smaller groups and adjusted moderation, flexibility in interviewing tools and channels, and new, online-specific ethical considerations when planning, executing, and analysing interviews. The paper advocates the complementarity between in-person and online focus groups as two modalities of data collection and argues for the normalization of hybrid methods.Veritati - Repositório Institucional da Universidade Católica PortuguesaBolin, GöranKalmus, VeronikaFigueiras, Rita2023-06-30T16:10:43Z2023-01-012023-01-01T00:00:00Zinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/41502eng1609-406910.1177/1609406923118202985161648222001005221800001info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessreponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãoinstacron:RCAAP2023-07-12T17:47:04Zoai:repositorio.ucp.pt:10400.14/41502Portal AgregadorONGhttps://www.rcaap.pt/oai/openaireopendoar:71602024-03-19T18:34:11.114726Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãofalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Conducting online focus group interviews with two generations: methodological experiences and reflections from the pandemic context
title Conducting online focus group interviews with two generations: methodological experiences and reflections from the pandemic context
spellingShingle Conducting online focus group interviews with two generations: methodological experiences and reflections from the pandemic context
Bolin, Göran
Focus groups
Interviews
Methodology
Qualitative research
title_short Conducting online focus group interviews with two generations: methodological experiences and reflections from the pandemic context
title_full Conducting online focus group interviews with two generations: methodological experiences and reflections from the pandemic context
title_fullStr Conducting online focus group interviews with two generations: methodological experiences and reflections from the pandemic context
title_full_unstemmed Conducting online focus group interviews with two generations: methodological experiences and reflections from the pandemic context
title_sort Conducting online focus group interviews with two generations: methodological experiences and reflections from the pandemic context
author Bolin, Göran
author_facet Bolin, Göran
Kalmus, Veronika
Figueiras, Rita
author_role author
author2 Kalmus, Veronika
Figueiras, Rita
author2_role author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Veritati - Repositório Institucional da Universidade Católica Portuguesa
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv Bolin, Göran
Kalmus, Veronika
Figueiras, Rita
dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv Focus groups
Interviews
Methodology
Qualitative research
topic Focus groups
Interviews
Methodology
Qualitative research
description In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, many research projects were forced to adapt their design and conduct interviews online. This paper discusses the benefits and challenges of using online focus groups with participants representing different generations and cultural and social backgrounds. Based on the researchers’ experiences and field notes from a three-country comparative project, aiming at analysing the extent to which previous experience of state surveillance impacted attitudes to commercial monitoring and tracking of online behaviour among two generational cohorts, the paper identifies seven aspects where the move from offline to online interviewing interfered with the original research design. The paper suggests that most of these interferences resulted in a need to adjust the methodology to better fit the online setting. We reflect critically upon the issues of technological preconditions and digital skills, recruitment, group size, degrees of previous acquaintance, the role of the interviewer, participants’ household status and media environment, and ethical considerations concerning privacy and data management. Based on these methodological insights, we conclude that future online focus group research would benefit from using smaller groups and adjusted moderation, flexibility in interviewing tools and channels, and new, online-specific ethical considerations when planning, executing, and analysing interviews. The paper advocates the complementarity between in-person and online focus groups as two modalities of data collection and argues for the normalization of hybrid methods.
publishDate 2023
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2023-06-30T16:10:43Z
2023-01-01
2023-01-01T00:00:00Z
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10.1177/16094069231182029
85161648222
001005221800001
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