From Inquiry to Academic Writing A Practical Guide, 3rd edition

340 CHAPTER 11 | OTHER METHOdS Of InquIRy: InTERvIEwS And fOCuS GROuPS

■ conduct the Focus group

On the day before you conduct the focus group, contact those who have

agreed to participate to remind them of when and where it will happen.

Show up ahead of time to make sure that your recording device is in good

working order and that the room has sufficient seating for the participants.

And don’t forget your script. Here are three other guidelines.

Ask questions that draw people out. During the focus group, be ready to

draw out participants with follow-up questions (“Can you offer an exam-

ple?” “Where do you think this impression comes from?”). Encourage all

participants to speak; don’t allow one member to dominate the discussion.

(You may need to ask a facilitating question like “Do the rest of you agree

with X’s statement?” or “How would you extend what X has said?” or “Has

anyone had a different experience?”)

Limit the time of a focus group session. It’s a good idea to limit the session

to thirty to forty-five minutes. When deciding how long the session should

last, remember that it will take approximately three times longer to tran-

scribe it. You must transcribe the session so that you can read through the

participants’ comments and quote them accurately.

Notice nonverbal interactions. The recording device you use will give you a

record of what was said, but be sure to notice nonverbal interactions and

responses in your session, taking notes of body language, reluctance or

eagerness to speak, and dynamics among group members that either open

up or shut down conversation. These responses should be part of the data

you analyze.

■ interpret the Data from the Focus group

Once you transcribe your focus group session, decide how you will refer

anonymously to your participants. You then need to interpret the signifi-

cance of the way participants talk about issues, as well as the information

they relate. Interpret the nonverbal communication in the group as well as

the verbal communication.

In making claims based on focus group data, remember that data from

focus group interviews are not the same as data from individual interviews.

They reflect collective thinking, ideas shared and negotiated by the group.

Also, although you might speculate that data from a focus group are indic-

ative of larger trends, be careful about the kinds of claims you make. One

first-year student’s idea is not necessarily every first-year student’s idea.

The principal aim of doing original research is to make a contribution

to a conversation using primary material as evidence to support your argu-

ment. For instance, when you conduct interviews or focus group discussions,

you are collecting information (or data) that can offer a unique perspective.

And doing original research also can enable you to test others’ claims or

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