POLÍTICA MANUAL DE
TABLA 14: ESCALA DE VALORES PARA LA CALIFICACIÓN DE CONDICIONES SUBESTÁNDAR
Focus group interviews were used within Phase One of the research to explore student
nurses’ experiences of directed study time. The underlying feature of a focus group is the
interaction of the group. Kitzinger defined a focus group as:
a research encounter which aims to generate discussion on a particular topic or range of topics, with the emphasis being on interaction between participants Kitzinger (1994, p.103)
The group interaction within focus groups is considered to result in a high level of face validity (Krueger, 1994) because what the participants discuss within the focus group session can be confirmed, supported or challenged within the same session (Webb and Kevern, 2001). Whilst an individual semi-structured interview compliments a
phenomenological approach because it enables the research to explore the participants’
lived experiences, I considered that there would be limitations to such a method due to my position. Although I was unfamiliar to the students as I was employed at a different university to where they studied, I considered that my position as a senior nurse lecturer may prevent them from openly discussing their experiences through a one to one interview. Instead, I believed that a focus group interview would promote the active involvement of the participants as focus groups are considered to empower the participants (Kitzinger, 2005). Consequently I believed that focus groups would be the most suitable method as
they would enable me to fully explore the students’ experiences of the phenomena.
Historically there has been much opposition to the use of focus groups within phenomenological research, it is argued that the focus group setting does not enable the
researcher to fully explore the ‘essences’ of phenomena (Webb and Kevern, 2001; Webb,
2003; Smith, 2004; Dowling, 2007). Phenomenological studies have traditionally used individual interviews to explore the lived experiences of participants, however Bradbury et al. (2009) argued that focus are compatible with phenomenology. They maintained that the combination has been used widely, but many researchers have failed to justify the use of focus groups or provide a rationale for their choice of method. I can justify my decision to use this combination based on my position as a researcher as discussed above and my belief
82 that the group interaction of the focus group would empower students to openly discuss their experiences within a supportive environment, so that “the phenomenon being
researched comes alive within the group” (Halling et al., 1994, pp. 112).
A further advantage of the use of a focus group is that it enables the participants to share their experiences with each other and voice their own interpretation of the phenomena as it unfolds (Sorrell and Redmond, 1995). In addition, the focus group allows time for participants to reflect on their experiences whilst other participants speak (Jasper, 1996). Spiegelberg (1975) and Halling et al. (1994) maintained that the group method does not
exclude individuals’ accounts but incorporates them. The need to maintain the parts and
the whole of the experience during the focus group and throughout the stages of analysis is an important aspect to consider when using focus groups within phenomenology, as emphasised by Tomkins and Eatough (2010). My attempts to maintain the individual experience as well as the group experience will be discussed later in this chapter and in the following chapter.
The guide for the focus group interview was developed, based on the available literature relating to the subject of investigation and the main aim of the study (see Appendix 3). Dilorio et al. (1994) outlined how the interview guide is intended to direct group discussion and to stimulate conversation about the research subject in addition to ensuring that all the desired information is sought. Considering the limited amount of literature available in relation to the use of directed study time, it was necessary to fully explore any unexpected issues which could arise from the interviews; therefore I incorporated probes into the guide
to promote further exploration of the participants’ experiences. Whilst I had developed a
guide for the focus group, the semi-structured approach which was used, enabled flexibility
and allowed me to explore the students’ experiences of DST in depth.
Each of the three focus group interviews was conducted at the university in which the student nurses were studying. The interviews were held during the students’ lunch breaks
to avoid disrupting the timetabled theory time. I provided lunch for each group and the focus group interviews commenced shortly after. Having arrived early I organised the seats
83 to ensure that the students could have eye contact with each other and with me. King and Horrocks (2010) recommended that that the researcher must be aware of how the seating
arrangements might ‘feel’ for the participants. For two of the three focus groups, I was accompanied by one of my supervisors. I introduced them to the group and they positioned themselves at a distance from the group in the background and made some field notes.
At the start of each focus group interview I introduced myself; thanked the participants for volunteering to participate in the research and reminded them of the purpose of the study. I asked the students to say their name the first time they spoke so that I could identify their voice on the audio recording. The purpose of this was to enable me to identify what each student said so that I could gain a full understanding of the experiences of individual participants as well as the group. I reminded them that their names would each be replaced with pseudonyms and that their identities would not be revealed.
The focus group interview guide consisted of four main areas:
1. To explore what directed study meant to the participants, based on their experiences.
2. To discuss how the participants used directed study time
3. To explore how well students felt that they were supported with directed study 4. To consider whether there were any external factors which influenced their
approach to directed study time
The guide for the third year student focus groups also asked them to consider whether they used DST any differently than in the first year. Throughout the focus group interviews, probes were used to encourage the participants to discuss the issues in detail. The main criticism of focus groups is that one member can dominate the group or some quieter members may be reluctant to share their views with others in the group (Kitzinger 1995, Barbour 2007). I was aware of this and therefore throughout each focus group interview I made efforts to encourage the quieter members to contribute by intentionally inviting them to speak. I explored any issues which were unclear with the use of probes to clarify and unpick some of the responses. I informed the participants when the interview was nearing
84 the end and asked if they had any other comments to add. I then thanked the group members for attending in their lunch breaks.
The focus group interviews were between forty three and fifty three minutes in duration. Each focus group interview was audio recorded with an MP3 recorder and later transcribed verbatim. Participants’ names were changed to pseudonyms before and during the
transcribing process. References made by participants to other individuals or to the university were removed and replaced with pseudonyms.