PO217 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Focus Group, Participant Observation, External Validity
Document Summary
Topic 9: why interviews, pre and post-interview, focus groups. Interview and focus group issues: what is observational research, some advantages of observational research, the trade-offs involved in observational research, types of observational research, techniques of observational research, other drawbacks of observational research. Why interviews: exploratory research, process information, explanatory information, contextual information, additional contacts and materials. Pre-interview: background info (interviewee, issue(s), and context) Interview framework: role of probes, question ordering start off with something simple but relevant, question wording don"t lead the inter(cid:448)ie(cid:449)ee. Identify characteristics of participants: ensure skilled focus group leader, determine number of groups needs, put (cid:862)like(cid:863) (cid:449)ith (cid:862)like(cid:863) Interviewer effect: social desirability don"t (cid:449)ant to appear as a so(cid:272)ial de(cid:448)iant, memory (recent vs distant events, salience if people ha(cid:448)e no interest in (cid:449)hat you"re studying it is diffi(cid:272)ult. Immediacy: the resear(cid:272)h does not ha(cid:448)e to rely on parti(cid:272)ipants" recall. The trade-offs involved in observational research: observational research often involves a trade-off between ethical considerations, reactivity, and access.
