I am planning to conduct 4 focus groups for my study in London. As you know London is multi-culture city and I need to have all ethnic groups that representing the community in London in my study and I have limited time.
Estoy de acuerdo con la profesora Bischoping en sus planteamientos,ademas de organizarlos por grupos de conocimiento,intentaria nombrar en cada grupo un coordinador que reuniese las principales ideas y despues se pudiesen debatir e intercambiar entre los otros grupos que se hayan formado y asi el debate seria mas rapido y agil.
Most ethnic communities in London have organisations which represent them or offer support and services to them. Get hold of the directory of voluntary sector groups in your local area (you can find these on the websites of the various London Councils), phone them and make an appointment to go and speak to the person in charge. Explain the purpose of your research and the help you need from them. Most will be happy to help you. If you can do something to help them that would be great. These organisations run on a limited budget and volunteers. If you volunteer your skills even for a couple of days they will be more likely to help you and by spending some time with people from the organisations you will definitely learn a lot. This is a win win scenario! Good luck.
I think it will depend on your topic focus, that will give you an indication in who to look for. For example if you need to include South Asian's then (Indians, Bangladesh, Pakistanis are some of the groups of course there are others but those are the prominent groups. if you are targeting Africans then the prominent groups in London are; Nigerians, Somalian's, Ghanaian's etc....
I hope this help.
I have attached a paper that might help in understanding the process of engaging and recruiting minority groups into research, is from my own research experience
Article Engaging minorities in researching sensitive health topics b...
All suggestions are good advice,
Additionally, I think narrowing or constructing the profile of what the groups will consist of may be helpful from a qualitative point of view; e.g. age range, gender, whether recent or longer term immigrant, resident, citizen, or any particular common experiential trait you want among the focus groups. When you then report on the focus group findings, you can more accurately describe the group similarities. There is always more work in the selection process than there is in running the focus group, and sometimes more than in analysis. It is critical to set up your profile and recruit accordingly. If you cannot match it, you may have broaden the criteria.
For example I conducted a focus group among indigenous representatives regarding state water policy in Mexico, and a different focus group on water policy affecting indigenous in the US. Most important was the shared trait of being from communities directly affected by state water policy, wherein the first group included three different indigenous nations, the second group consisted of one.
Both groups live in the same region of North America and are affected by the same down scaled climate. The first group included one group with a highly structured response mechanism (4 governors only speak though a single spokesperson even though they are in the same room openly discussing among themselves in their language of Yoeme) with Spanish being the common language, while in the second group - English was used as the common language though an indigenous language - O'odham - was used intermittently.
Recruiting ethnic minority sample in London would be the easy and full of fun as people are very friendly in these groups ( based on our experience) . Depending on the population group you are seeking to recruit- contact community groups and leisure centers. Make an appointment for face-to -face meeting to explain your study with the manager, find out what days/time/venue these groups meet and be in time with plenty of time at hand. A presentation on your study with some evidence and outcomes of published research worked really well for us for recruiting in Community Centre- extend this to friends and family. Flyers are helpful if you are aiming to recruit in the University. Its not fair to expect free time so a supermarket voucher as a thank you will be appropriate. If you want a professional service to help you- contact us [email protected]
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