My PhD supervisor wants me to add a focus group to test the face validity of my research findings. The findings are from a quantitative study in a field of training for those working in organisations, and I am in the phase of writing the thesis.
After studying the literature, I decided not to do qualitative research because of my own worldview or ontology, which is post-positivist. Also, the literature in the field was mostly qualitative, anecdotal reports of personal experiences and that dominant approach had not been productive for developing the field. My decision was to do something different, and therefore quantitative.
Now, my supervisor wants me to do a focus group at the end, to organize a group, present my findings and see if they agree. Their reasoning is that this is what the department is familiar with and has come to expect over time.
My view is that a focus group at this stage and in this particular world is methodologically unsound, and that my research results would never lead to choosing such a method. What to do now?
Dear Lilian,
I believe you are discussing two different components of research. There are focus groups that can be conducted after quantitative data collection - this can be part of conducting mixed methods research. The qualitative data from your focus groups can help explain findings from your quantitative research. A great resource on mixed method research is the book Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research by Creswell and Plano Clark. But, you also discuss a knowledge dissemination or transfer strategy to present research findings to for example study participants or decision-makers at the end of your research. This knowledge dissemination or transfer strategy can be in the form of focus groups or workshops for example and is a good way at the end of a study to help validate findings prior to public diffusion (ex.: peer-reviewed publication, reports, presentations, etc.), translate research into practice and policy, decide on future steps, and be transparent with study participants on what the results of your research will be used for.
I hope this helps!
Warm regards,
Jessica
First, don't let your ontology get in the way of practicality. It is very rare for beliefs about the nature of reality to have a clear influence on research design. So, if qualitative data can address your research goal, you should consider it.
Second, within mixed methods, following up on qualitative research with qualitative research is known as an explanatory sequential design, where the goal is to gain more understanding about your quantitative results. If you ask meaningful questions, your results with not be "anecdotal."
Third, conducting a single focus group is seldom recommended because you can't know whether a second group would give a similar or entirely different set of responses. In particular, choosing who to interview and how many interviews to conduct are important aspects of qualitative research design.
Dear David,
Let me check, you write “following up on qualitative research with qualitative research” when I think you meant “following up on quantitative with qualitative research”; is that correct?
In my situation I do not see any rationale for qualitative research after my large cross-sectional study. My proposal was accepted years ago. It is a new supervisor who wants that, a replacement for my old supervisor who left the university. This supervisor is not comfortable with quant research, and very strongly (understatement) recommends a focus group.
Dear Jessica,
Your suggestions about the dissemination or transfer strategy are very helpful!
Is it possible to discuss this further by private mail?
Regards,
Lilian.
You are correct -- this a problem with the spell checking system in Apple's software, which tends to replace any misspelling of "quantitative" with "qualitative."
Thank you for the comment on focus groups, that holding one focus group is not to be recommended. I agree with that. It needs careful thinking through, and a good design. Focus groups, as I understand it, are not a quick fix.
Adding to what others have said, qualitative research is focused primarily on understanding nuance of experience and context of complicated ideas. Your quantitative results could be supplemented, or put differently, re-contextualized into real world understandings by adding some qualitative data. More than one focus group is going to yield better substantiated claims and findings, but your supervisor is the final word.
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