SISTEMA CONTRAINCENDIOS

Focus group discussions were adopted in this study to allow for the views and interpretations of the participants to be heard. Collier and Bornman (1999:140) suggest that focus group discussions accord participants the opportunity to elaborate in relative detail their points of view. Pitout (2009:498) states that a focus group discussion allows the researcher to explore the intersubjective experiences of a group of people or a community. A focus group usually consists of a group of people or participants – typically about six to twelve people – who are selected on the basis that they have something in common which relates to the topic of a study.

The roots of the use of focus groups in scientific research can be traced to Sociology.

According to Millward (1995:275), focus groups as a source of data were used in the investigation into the effectiveness of war-time propaganda and the social effects of the media. Market researchers and consultants have however adopted the use of focus groups to study the preferences, opinions and behaviour of consumers, and thus enhancing the

methodological evolution of focus groups as a research method. Because much of the data on how to conduct focus group discussions emanates from the marketing domain ˗ other than from the scientific realm ˗ focus groups have been dabbed relatively inexpensive and an easy way of gathering data on client needs.

However, focus groups are increasingly being used in social science research, as the use of this data gathering tool can not only assist researchers to find answers to research questions and management problems, but can also assist in generating new questions and may stimulate researchers to perceive an issue or topic from different angles or perspectives (Millward 1995:276). Focus groups are also often used for the preliminary exploration of a topic or issue in the application of other methodologies. For example, focus groups are often employed to assist survey researchers in the development of a questionnaire and to help enhance the content validity of the questionnaire. Focus groups are, in fact, one of the most popular research methodologies used in the triangulation of methodologies.

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In order to guarantee the relative quality of the data obtained from focus group discussions, the researcher has to ensure that the techniques of using this method are fully adhered to.

That means that the responsible and scientific researcher must give painstaking consideration to the following aspects; the interview schedule, sampling and recruitment of participants, stratification of groups, sample size, group size, location and setting, length of discussion, methodology and procedure, moderator style and skills, recording of the data, data analysis, and ethical issues.

According to Neuman (2000:510), a focus group is a type of group interview in which the interviewer poses questions or presents topics or issues to a group of individuals who respond in an open and receptive discussion among the group members. Millward (1995:275) places an emphasis on the fact that a focus group is ˗ as the term suggests ˗ indeed “focussed” on a particular issue or topic.

Focus groups are thus well-managed, well-staged and well-designed meetings organised to discuss a particular topic or issue (Millward 1995:278). Thus the focus group discussion is not an open-ended type of interview. Rather, the researcher provides an interview guide to direct the discussion. Such a guide sets the parameters of the discussion. Sometimes

researchers also make use of a pre-group questionnaire to obtain preliminary information on the demographic details of the participants and their opinion on some aspects of the issue at hand. The participants are carefully selected on the basis of their ability to contribute knowledge or opinions with regard to the topic at hand. The process is furthermore well-designed in order to enhance both the eminence and the amount of data gathered.

A focus group discussion is usually led by a moderator who has the task to foster interaction between the participants and sees to it that the discussion remains focused on the topic of the study. Fife (2005:10) suggests that the facilitator “must be gregarious, with low levels of communication apprehension”. He or she must be able to lead the discussion positively and with purpose.

Millward (1995:276) suggests that, when applied correctly, focus groups can provide rich insight into the topic or issues under discussion. One of the most important advantages of using focus groups above individual interviews is the fact that the data generated are not only determined by the individual contributions of each participant, but also by the group

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dynamics that evolve during the discussion. Focus groups are thus particularly useful when conducting exploratory research on a topic, which little is known.

Millward (1995:276) furthermore points out that the proceedings of a focus group discussion should be understood on two levels. The first level is intrapersonal in nature and refers to the feelings, attitudes, opinions, values and experiences of the individual participants. The second level pertains to the communication and interaction between the participants. Thus focus groups can provide rich insight into how reality is defined within a group context and the dynamic effect of group interaction on the attitudes, beliefs, opinions, feelings and

experiences as expressed by the participants. A focus group can consequently be regarded as a communication event that provides an opportunity for studying the interplay between the personal and the social aspects.

The main focus of the current study was non-verbal communication. Focus groups are currently widely recognised as a method for studying non-verbal communication as is highlighted in the many studies reported in journal articles in which this method has been employed to study communication phenomena related to non-verbal communication. Taylor, Hester and Wilson (2011) used focus groups, for example, as part of a mixed methods study to investigate the differences between face-to-face conversations and those carried out by means of a video link in supporting health care students. Eye contact ‒ one of the key issues in non-verbal communication ‒ was identified as one of the main problems of communication via a video link.

Ziner, Kooken, Russel, Haase and Lu (2007) used focus groups to study the non-verbal communication experiences of African American breast cancer survivors. Williams, Harricharan and Sa (2013) also used focus groups to study the problems that Caribbean students experienced at a medical school specifically regarding non-verbal communication.

Räsmark, Richt and Rudebeck (2014) furthermore used focus groups to study non-verbal communication ‒ touch in particular ‒ in the interaction between staff and children within the context of a rehabilitation centre.

The conclusion can be drawn that the focus group was indeed an appropriate method to use in the current study where similarities and differences in non-verbal communication between Zambians and Westerners were investigated. The focus groups provided in the first place a

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social and interactive setting for studying non-verbal communication which is in essence a medium for social interaction. Also culture is essentially vested within a group. Focus groups were furthermore appropriate as the investigation was in essence an exploratory study. Little information is available in the literature with regard to intercultural encounters and the differences and/or similarities between the cultures of Zambian people and Westerners. The focus groups thus provided the researcher the opportunity to gain insight into the participants’

experiences of and opinions regarding their own culture as well as the culture of the other within a group setting.

5.4 PARTICIPANTS