What do these two different epistemological stances imply for the analysis of focus group data?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• Analytically speaking, the group process can be understood on two different levels:
(1) intrapersonal, i.e. the thoughts, feelings, attitudes and values of the individual;
(2) intragroup, i.e. how people communicate and interact with each other within the group.
• Selecting an appropriate method of analysis is critical to the success of a focus group investigation since the ‘evidence’ is in the hands of the researcher who must in some way translate it in a meaningful and sensitive way.
• A focus on content will imply some form of content analysis.
• Content analysis can be undertaken as either a qualitative or quantitative exercise with the latter affording data in the form of frequencies.
• A focus on process will imply some form of process analysis epistemologically suited to this kind of evidence base. Forms of process analysis are relatively underdeveloped and rely heavily on the linguistic methods including discourse analysis.
• There is a need for analytic development in the field that enables the researcher to capture both content and process without dissociation.