Interviews & Focus Groups

Data Collection Methods

Yueyi Huang & Brianna Moffitt

OVERVIEW
Learning Objectives

Last Step of Planning

Developing assessment questions Conducting the Interview/Focus Group Looking Ahead Analyzing Data Q&A

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will be able to Collect in-depth qualitative data about the beliefs, knowledge, experiences, views, etc., of participants in focus groups and/or interviews. Decide when to choose the use of focus groups and interviews in their assessment processes. Construct an effective protocol for focus groups and interviews. Design an implementation strategy for focus groups and interviews.

Path to Continuous Improvement

Implement

Plan

Evaluate

Supported by: Palomba, C., & Banta, T. W. (1999). Assessment Essentials: Planning, Implementing, and Improving Assessment in Higher Education.

Plan
1. Collect 2. Create 3. Choose

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DEFINITIONS
A focus group is a semi-structured discussion among individuals who are deemed to have some knowledge of, or interest in, the issue associate with the study. [4-12; 6-10 preferred] VS. An interview is a data collection procedure in which one person (an interviewer) asks questions of another (a respondent). [1:1]

(Rea, L.M. & Parker, R.A., 1997; Babbie, E., 2001)

CHOOSING

Is the data youre collecting of a sensitive nature? What spaces and tools are available to you to conduct your interviews and/or focus groups?

How many perspectives do you want to collect? How much time can you allocate to this project?

What is your research question?

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BENEFITS
Helps to understand perceptions, beliefs, thought processes Small number of participants Focus groups encourage group interaction and building upon ideas Responsive in nature Relatively low cost involved

CHALLENGES
Getting participants (time/place) Data collection & analysis takes time Data is as good as the facilitator Beware of bias in analysis reporting Meant to tell story, may not help if you need numbers Not meant to be generalizable

Plan
1. Collect 2. Create 3. Choose

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4. Construct

CASE STUDY: American Culture Class

Population: New international students Objectives: To introduce students to US culture and the surrounding region. To encourage students to share their own culture with others while learning about U.S. culture, values, customs, and traditions. To create a community that is conducive to sharing as well as raising questions, problems and concerns not addressed elsewhere. To enhance students knowledge of campus resources. To increase their connection to the Trojan Family and fellow students.

GUIDING QUESTION
What question(s) do you want to answer with the data from your focus groups and/or interviews? What is your overarching research question?

Guiding Question: How does the American Culture class impact the college experiences of international students?

FORMULATING QUESTIONS
Open-Ended Questions can be Descriptive Structural Contrasting Ask Participants to Share Analyze Generalize Apply

SAMPLE QUESTIONS
Whats your typical day like? Do you find class activities helpful preparing you for your study at USC? Can you give an example? What kinds of challenges do you find as an international student?

What is your experience interacting with American students vs. other international students?
Tell me the differences you see between the college experience in your home country and here.

How comfortable do you feel sharing your own culture with other students?

TIPS FOR FORMULATING QUESTIONS

Open-ended questions Avoid dichotomous questions Avoid Why questions Be simple and brief Ask one question at a time Phrase questions that can be understood by participants Avoid leading questions Ask participants to think back

PARTICIPANT SAMPLING STRATEGIES

Randomized
All members have an equal and independent chance of being included.

Stratified
The population consists of a number of subgroups, or strata, that may differ in the characteristics being studied.

Purposive
Subjects judged to be representative are chosen from the population.

Snowball
The initially selected subjects suggest others who are appropriate for the study.

DESIGNING YOUR SPACE

Equal planes Sitting in a circle Comfortable Formal vs. Informal

THE DYNAMICS OF A TABLE.

PROTOCOL
Welcome and small talk purposefully Introduce yourself & other moderators Define roles: My role as moderator is to... Explain topic We will use the results for You were selected because Procedural Guidelines Define confidentiality Explain your documentation process Cell phones/electronics usage Defining Expectations & Asking Permission Questions Funnel (general to focused)

MODERATOR
Familiarize yourself with adequate knowledge beforehand Be mentally prepared (Listening, Alert, Familiar) Control: mild and unobtrusive Be aware of group dynamics

PROBES
Capitalize on Pauses Would you explain further? Would you give an example? Could you clarify what you mean by

ASSISTANT MODERATOR
Welcome participants Operate recording equipment Take written notes Non-participatory Debrief with moderator

ANALYSIS IN ACTION
Inconsistencies Vague & Cryptic Summarize & Confirm Debrief & Document Initial Ideas

Implement

Evaluate
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LOOKING AHEAD
Transcribing Familiarizing Coding making sense of the information and creating themes/patterns Patton (2002) and Berg (2001) coding used to develop themes and patterns to be used on content analysis Validating Strauss and Corbin (1990) breakdown, put back together and validation

Fall 2013 Workshops

Workshop Name Data Analysis with SPSS & Excel How to Present Your Results Date Oct. 29 Nov. 19

Spring 2014 Workshops

Learning Outcomes and Mission Statements How to Use Qualtrics Using Existing Data Qualitative Data Interviews and Analysis How to Present Your Findings

Questions? Contact: jrcalhou@usc.edu