3.5. RESEARCH METHODS
3.5.2. FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW
Empirical data collection methods are largely based on focus group interview referred to as an art of urging respondents to detail answers to pertinent questions and interviewing is the ability of the researcher to utilise his skill in asking questions, that will elicit the desired information, and intently listening to their responses (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003). There is a situated understanding between the interviewer and participants in an interactive environment (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003).
This research used a focus group and a semi-structured interview, with open-ended questions, in an informal setting (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003) in order to gather appropriate data. The source of the data was located in the discussion between the participants and the moderator was responsible for creating and directing the discussion that generated the appropriate and relevant data (Morgan, 1996).
In setting the stage to the focus group interview, firstly, the moderator explained the expectation of the discussion, and thereby made the purpose of the research very clear;
secondly, introduced members to each other using first names; thirdly, started the discussion using a stimulus; and finally, allowed a period of adaptation by the group members (Flick, 2006).
To ensure that my case study research was effective and engaged the essential skills addressed by Janesick (2011), the moderator who conducted the focus group interview: asked questions that were good and appropriate to uncover essential data to answer the research questions; was an attentive listener and provided opportunities for all participants to
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contribute to the discussion; was flexible during the focus group interview and adapted as the situation demanded by rephrasing questions to the understanding of the participants in order to extract the appropriate and relevant data; was sensitive, respected participants and made them comfortable enough to provide relevant and comprehensive data; had a good grasp of the issues in focus and understood the data as it unfolded; capably dealt with multiple ideas and verified possibilities of participants answers with them; and, was able to identify relevant and irrelevant data to my research study (Janesick, 2011).
“Knowledge is constructed in the process of social interchange” (Flick, 2006, p. 80). The social interaction between participants in this focus group interview influenced the validity of the knowledge that emanated from the discussion (Flick, 2006). This focus group interview which consisted of selected individuals required to discuss their experiences in implementing CAPS in the grade eleven Mathematics classroom (Cohen et al, 2011), brought together people with different perspectives to interact and share their experiences of what they perceived about this particular focus of inquiry “through a process that is open and emergent”
(Maykut & Morehouse, 1994, p.103). There was simultaneous systematic questioning of this group of individuals in an informal environment (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003). The informal environment selected was my home, which was conducted out of school time in order to avoid disrupting teaching and learning time; and away from the school environment to avoid the noise of learners from disrupting the process. The informal setting of my home provided a relaxed, comfortable and convenient environment to facilitate adequate and in-depth discussions between the participants concerning the focus of this study.
The focus group interview yielded a collective and not an individual perspective because the participants interacted with other group members during the interview (Cohen et al, 2011).
The focus concentrated on a particular issue of participants’ experiences with implementing CAPS in the grade eleven class, as detailed in the research question, and allowed the moderator the opportunity to scrutinise the issues and engage the participants in lengthy discussions (Wisker, 2001). As participants spoke, issues and ideas took shape (Wisker, 2001). The focus group interaction produced data that would otherwise not have been obtained from individual interviews (Janesick, 2011), since the focus group is less intimidating than a one-to-one interview (Marshall & Rossman, 2011). The interaction that took place between participants lead to greater understanding of view-points (Janesick,
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2011). This allowed for immediate clarification and follow-up of data by the participants and the moderator (Marshall & Rossman, 2011).
As a Mathematics teacher, I have knowledge of the CAPS curriculum, but did not anticipate answers from the participants of the focus group, therefore a semi-structured interview was conducted to generate data from the participants of the focus group that was purposefully selected (Morse & Richards, 2002). The focus group constituted open-ended questions that followed a logical order to cover the research questions (Morse & Richards, 2002). Open- ended questions gave the moderator the opportunity to expand on the responses of the participants by prompting and questioning to follow-up on responses (Wisker, 2001). This focus group interview was guided by seven open-ended questions to propel discussions towards achieving the intended inquiry of exploring participants’ experiences in implementing CAPS in the grade eleven class (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994). These questions were presented in a manner that invited detailed responses from participants (Morse &
Richards, 2002). Each of the seven questions had further sub-questions in order to probe and generate in-depth responses (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009). The moderator used appropriate skills essential for a successful focus group, such as being “flexible, objective, empathetic, persuasive, and a good listener” (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003, p. 72). According to Kvale &
Brinkmann (2009) this is called the miner approach, where the researcher assumes that knowledge exists and the moderator must dig for these nuggets of knowledge from the participants’ experiences.
Dominating of the focus group interview by an individual or small group, and the non- participation of any person in the group were anticipated problems that were avoided at all costs (Merton, Fisk, & Kendall, 1956). Participants’ responses were taken in turn to avoid domination by any one participant (Wisker, 2001). The participants were allowed to finish speaking before any interjection into the conversation. The moderator, as detailed above, who is experienced in conducting research and focus groups interviews, was selected to conduct the interview of the focus group. The moderator’s role was three fold: gave formal direction to the agenda of the research; steered the discussion towards the purpose of the research using additional questions that achieved a deep understanding of the participants’ views on the topic; and reflated the discussion by provoking responses from reserved participants (Flick, 2006). However intervention by the moderator was only essential in supporting group dynamics and functioning and therefore created an open space for discussion (Flick, 2006).
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The moderator pleasantly and in a friendly approach ensured that all participants contributed to the discussion without any interjections; directed questions at participants who were not contributing; and steered the discussion towards exploring participants’ experiences with implementing CAPS in the grade eleven Mathematics class.
The interview was audio recorded to ensure that all data presented by participants were captured (Morse & Richards, 2002). The recording was transcribed to text for analysis of responses in answering the questions (Morse & Richards, 2002). The audio-tapes provided me with the opportunity to view and review the focus group interview by replaying the tape (Morse & Richards, 2002). This gave me the opportunity to make an accurate analysis of the responses of the participants (Morse & Richards, 2002). In conducting the focus group, the moderator adhered to the following.