Absence, multiplicity and the boundaries of research? Reflections on online asynchronous focus groups

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2404253
AutoresAna Estrada-Jaramillo (0000-0002-3519-0102, University of Exeter College of Social Sciences and International Studies, Exeter, UK, autor de correspondencia), Mike Michael (0000-0001-9272-2294, University of Exeter College of Social Sciences and International Studies, Exeter, UK), Hannah Farrimond (0000-0001-9946-8620, University of Exeter College of Social Sciences and International Studies, Exeter, UK)
Año2023
Volumen23
Número6
Páginas1669-1688
Fecha de publicación2023-12-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaQualitative Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1468-7941 • E-ISSN: 1741-3109
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/14687941221110169
OpenAlexW4293059172
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas42

During the COVID 19 pandemic, Online Asynchronous Focus Groups (OAFG) through WhatsApp were conducted to explore women's experiences in the context of Congenital Syphilis prevention in Colombia. This paper discusses issues raised by the OAFGs (not least in relation to face-to-face focus groups). After a review of the literature on online and offline focus groups, there is a consideration of some key features of our OAFGs. In particular, we note how silence, presence, attention, continuity and multiplicity manifested in our OAFGs. We suggest that rather than regarding OAFGs as inferior to the 'gold standard' of face-to-face focus groups, our OAFGs raise important questions about our assumptions about focus group methodology. For instance, what counts as participant engagement, what comprises 'useful' social data, and what constitute the boundaries of a focus group all emerge as critical issues. We go on to reflect on some of the implications of these issues for the fruitfulness of OAFG methods

Aesthetics · Asynchronous communication · Focus group · Geography · Silence · Sociology · Computer Science · Focus Groups and Qualitative Methods · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Psychology · Social Media in Health Education · Social Psychology