TY - JOUR
T1 - In-Person Versus Online Focus Group Discussions
T2 - A Comparative Analysis of Data Quality
AU - Woodyatt, Cory R.
AU - Finneran, Catherine A.
AU - Stephenson, Rob
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2015.
PY - 2016/5
Y1 - 2016/5
N2 - Online focus group discussions (FGDs) are becoming popular as a qualitative research method. Methodological examinations regarding the data quality of online versus more traditional in-person FGDs are limited. We compared two online FGDs with two in-person FGDs conducted with gay and bisexual men using a sensitive topic (the experience of intimate partner violence) to examine differences in data quality between the two methods. The online FGDs resulted in larger word count but were shorter in time than the in-person FGDs. There was high overlap in the themes generated across groups; however, the online discussions yielded one additional theme regarding a sensitive topic. In-person FGDs involved less sharing of in-depth stories, whereas sensitive topics were discussed more candidly in the online FGDs. The results illustrate that although the format of the data generated from each type of FGD may differ, the content of the data generated is remarkably similar.
AB - Online focus group discussions (FGDs) are becoming popular as a qualitative research method. Methodological examinations regarding the data quality of online versus more traditional in-person FGDs are limited. We compared two online FGDs with two in-person FGDs conducted with gay and bisexual men using a sensitive topic (the experience of intimate partner violence) to examine differences in data quality between the two methods. The online FGDs resulted in larger word count but were shorter in time than the in-person FGDs. There was high overlap in the themes generated across groups; however, the online discussions yielded one additional theme regarding a sensitive topic. In-person FGDs involved less sharing of in-depth stories, whereas sensitive topics were discussed more candidly in the online FGDs. The results illustrate that although the format of the data generated from each type of FGD may differ, the content of the data generated is remarkably similar.
KW - focus groups
KW - online
KW - qualitative methods, qualitative analysis
KW - research, qualitative
KW - violence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84962909723&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1049732316631510
DO - 10.1177/1049732316631510
M3 - Article
C2 - 26935719
AN - SCOPUS:84962909723
SN - 1049-7323
VL - 26
SP - 741
EP - 749
JO - Qualitative Health Research
JF - Qualitative Health Research
IS - 6
ER -