Deck 12: Interview and Focus Groups: Interpreting Guided Responses

Question 1

What people say and do in response to prompt questions or situations is called:

A) Guided responses
B) Focus group
C) Individual interview
D) None of the above

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Health practitioners use focus groups to:

A) Understand how cultural meanings affect daily health practices
B) Examine how patients understand interactions with health providers
C) Learn how the public perceives a new health campaign
D) All of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

A reason researchers use focus groups is because:

A) They are a convenient way to test hypotheses
B) They can identify adjacency pairs in conversations efficiently
C) They provide different views about behaviors, issues, and concerns
D) All of the above

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A planned focus group study likely will need IRB review because:

A) People participate in focus groups
B) The topics may be of a sensitive nature
C) The manipulation of variables may harm the participants
D) Both a and b

Question 5

An interview protocol consists of:

A) The names of the selected focus group participants
B) The topics or questions and probes for the focus group
C) The coding directions for focus group interview responses
D) All of the above

Question 6

A researcher plans to interview students and faculty on grading practices at your university. A key limitation to doing a focus group interview with these participants might be

A) The lack of synergy in focus groups
B) The status difference of the participants
C) The location of the focus group
D) None of the above

Question 7

A researcher decides to do individual interviews with students and faculty to get their perceptions of grading practices at the university. A disadvantage to this approach might be:

A) The lack of synergy in an individual interview
B) The lack of status difference in an individual interview
C) The lack of adaptable scheduling time
D) All of the above

Question 8

A researcher has been putting up posters to recruit participants for a study on auto racing (e.g., NASCAR), but only two or three people have responded. What might the researcher do to find participants?

A) Change the study's inclusion/exclusion criteria to increase potential participants
B) Change the study's topic to be more attractive to potential participants
C) Change the recruiting method to snowball sampling with those who have responded
D) Change all of the above aspects of the study's design

Question 9

In selecting and recruiting participants for a focus group on a city's effort to build bike paths, a researcher decides that the participants must be over the age of 18 and bike to work. The researcher has stated:

A) Inclusion criteria
B) Exclusion criteria
C) Sampling criteria
D) Interview criteria

Question 10

Which of the following would be considered stimulus material for a focus group on HIV/AIDS?

A) A researcher asks participants a very controversial question related to the topic
B) A researcher asks participants to drink caffeinated coffee and sodas while at the focus group
C) A researcher asks a participant to add to what another participant said about HIV/AIDS
D) A researcher asks participants to interact with several web sites that provide HIV/AIDS information

Question 11

A way to estimate how long your interview questions will take to answer is to:

A) Ask an experienced researcher how long their questions took
B) Look at time estimates mentioned in survey studies
C) Pilot test the questions with someone not participating in the study
D) Time how long it takes you to answer the questions

Question 12

Before starting a focus group interview, make sure that:

A) The participants have signed an informed consent document if required
B) A clock is available and clearly visible so participants can track time
C) The participants know the rules for interacting with each other
D) All of the above

Question 13

A focus group moderator should have these qualities:

A) Extraversion and communication aptitude
B) Empathy and communication competence
C) Directness and to-the-point communication skills
D) Extraversion and directness

Question 14

A focus group moderator should never:

A) Take notes during the interview
B) Interrupt participants during their responses
C) Encourage reluctant participants to speak
D) Summarize orally at the end of each interview

Question 15

A focus group researcher's audit trail consists of:

A) The moderator's notes during and after the interview
B) Information about the date, time, and place of the interview
C) The names of the participants and the moderator
D) All of the above

Question 16

Focus group and interview studies differ from conversation analysis studies in that most focus group and interview studies:

A) Do not need to get informed consent
B) Do not require a detailed or rigorous transcription of the audio/video tapes
C) Require a more detailed coding of para-verbal cues
D) Require a less detailed audit trail to be recorded

Question 17

Interpretive analysis of focus group or interview data begins:

A) With the hermeneutic circle
B) As the researcher moderates the interviews
C) With taking notes about what is noticed during the first interview
D) All of the above are beginning points

Question 18

Categorizing of interview and focus group data involves:

A) Making notes that describe individual units of evidence
B) Coding data initially in an unrestricted way
C) Grouping coded data based on common features or properties
D) None of the above

Question 19

When analyzing focus group data, a researcher notices that several people expressed the same idea but using different words. The researcher records this pattern as a:

A) Recurrence
B) Repetition
C) Replication
D) Reappearance

Question 20

To enhance credibility, a focus group researcher should:

A) Be honest about their training and experience, theoretical sensitivity, and methodological awareness
B) Acknowledge when interview protocol may have influenced the meanings highlighted by participants
C) Collaborate with other researchers to conduct and analyze interviews
D) All of the above
Essays:

Question 21

The head of the communication department at your institution has asked you to get information on students' and faculty's perceptions regarding the kinds of communication courses that should be offered. The information is needed as part of a project to update the department's course offerings. Discuss whether you would conduct individual interviews or focus group interviews and the factors that influenced your decision to conduct that type of interview.

Question 22

You have completed conducting a focus group in which participants discussed their responses to new logos that have been submitted to replace the university's current logo. You have notes that you took during the interview and a videotape of the 30-minute focus group. Discuss the steps you will take to analyze the focus group data. Describe what you will pay attention to in order to find patterns in your notes and the video.

Question 23

Discuss how you can increase your credibility as an interview/focus group researcher and how you can ensure that your findings and interpretations are plausible to others.