Transcript It, Me, Us and Them: Young people talk online about living with

Aim
Practical guide to using online
focus groups (OFGs)
Background
Rationale
Process
What, why & how
Reflections
What I learnt
Aim: to explore the experiences of young people with
chronic skin conditions
Why won’t
young people
take part in
focus groups?
Centre for
Appearance Research
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Time
Transport
Confidence
Appearance …
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(Ginsburg & Link,1989; Wahl, Gjengedal, & Hanestad, 2002)
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Aim: to explore the experiences of young people with
chronic skin conditions
Why won’t
young people
take part in
focus groups?
What are the
alternatives?
Centre for
Appearance Research
Online focus groups
 Majority of published studies used asynchronous
groups (Gaiser 1997; Robson 1999: Ward 1999)
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Less synchronous groups reported but are
characterised by “dynamism and immediacy”
(Stewart
et al 1998; O’Connor & Madge 2003; Williams 2003)
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Early study explores health perceptions of tobacco
use across two cultures (Stewart et al 1998)
Aim: to explore the experiences of young people with
chronic skin conditions
Why won’t
young people
take part in
focus groups?
What are the
alternatives?
Centre for
Appearance Research
Explored
literature
Popularity
of internet: “an important social domain and a
powerful communication tool” (Pastore, 2002)
Interest:
interest
Opportunity to participate online may heighten
(Tse 1999)
Convenience:
Home access is growing: 75% of 9-19 year
olds accessed internet from a computer at home
 Population biases are declining as access increases (Selwyn
and Robson 1998) but exclusivity should still be considered
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.
Confidence: to take part from own home. Perception of
anonymity
Aim: to explore the experiences of young people with
chronic skin conditions
Why won’t
young people
take part in
focus groups?
Tried out
online
focus
groups
What are the
alternatives?
Centre for
Appearance Research
Explored
literature
Participants
 7 x online focus groups: 3 participants in each
 11-18 year olds with psoriasis or vitiligo for 12 months +
Recruitment
 Skin Organizations advertised study on web sites with direct link to
my research web site
 Young people read information about study
 Registration and consent page
 Provide parents email address
 I contact them by email with:
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- Time & date for OFG
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- link to online forum
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- unique user name & password
Web site & online forum hosted by University
Environment
 Welcome page & ground rules
 De-brief page with links
 Free of distraction
 University logo
 Password protected
 Piloted with students & supervisors
“in the real time chat of an online focus group,
the distinction between replying and sending
becomes blurred as the interactivity defies
conversational turn-taking”
(Mann & Stewart 2000 p.102)
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Decoding synchronous communication
lol
brb
ikr
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Understanding emoticons
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:)
:(
;)
Lou
Bee
Lou
Sara
Lou
Sara
Bee
Bee
Lou
Sara
Bee
my exams r dun yipeeeee!!!
yay!! Hehe
:D
wow go Lou lol
lol
u can enjoy ur hols lol
gd 4 u:)
still got 3 2 go till im donew
yeh will do! Lol
never mind :S
!!!!
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Number of participants
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Typing speed – the dominant talker
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Overlapping conversations
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Delayed responses
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Silences – how long is too long?
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Moderator
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Jo
Mark
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Ella
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Jo
Mark
Ella
Jo
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Ella
Ella
Jo
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Jo
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Mark
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How important is your skin in terms of your appearance or the way that
you look?
i would definately say that finding other ppl with it helps!
err obviously its never as gd as a level as wen i used treatment btu i
feel that iv just got used to it, o well i do use that horrible smelling
shampoo i forgot bout that i have used it for soo long
my mum was great wen i was worried about it showing on her wedding
day but she just said she didnt care cos it was part of me!
skin is everythign for teenagers! evetyone is conscious
errr a lot definately it has knocked my confidence on my appearance
yeah i'm concious but most people i know know about it
i hate it on my face because everyone can see! ur skin is the thing that
everyone sees and you cant change it!
i get worried if it starts spreading to places that u c everyday
like ur face wen its at the front of my scalp
yep ! definately - you always feel conscious and if i c sium1 looking at
me i immedaitely think its about my skin!
yep! i get it round the side but luckily its under hand at the mo due to
yucky sticky cream lol :)
yeah i agree wen i had a really bad patch where it was all over my hands
and face i was really down about it, i agree el i get that feeling
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Group cohesion – talked about “us” and “them”
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Probed each other and offered support
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Social differences, gender, age, status did not seem
to be a problem
Hannah
Tania
Nicole
Tania
Hannah
Tania
Tania:
Nicole
Hannah
Tania:
Tania
Tania
Hannah
yeah I see people looking and some
people obviously are thinking im glad I
don’t have that
that wot I tink but my mum always says
its just Me! Lol!
but its not r fault
nope
i think easy for them to say
they aren’t intelligent enuf to no that
though!
yeah they don’t reli understand properly
But its not wot we luk like its wots inside
yeah that’s exactly wot my mum says
but it’s a bit obvious when someone is
blatantly staring
especially on skool trips and ur in the
bathroom for ages doing cream
yeah but ppl are so shallow
like the plastics at my skool!
I go to an all girls school and theres a lot
of bitchyness
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Participants cant get online / connection drops
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Participants forget to join … send reminders
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Time zones complicate arrangements
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Cross cultural differences
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brb - Participants leave the computer
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Privacy? May be other people in the room
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Digital Divide / equity of access / socio-economic differences:
◦ 88% of middle class children have accessed the internet at home
◦ 61% of working class children have accessed the internet at home
(Livingstone & Bober 2005)
◦ 1 in 5 of the young people Catch22 works with has no access to
the internet (Catch22, 2010)
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Reasonable technical competence required
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Consent process
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Confidentiality
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Distress
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Convenience: Young people may be unable or unwilling to
travel
Interest: synchronous online communication is popular with
young people & the opportunity to participate online may
heighten interest (Tse 1999)
Confidence: Young people with appearance related concerns
may lack confidence to meet new people (Wahl et al 2002)
Anonymity: increases sense of control & may enhance
disclosure (Suzuki & Calzo 2004: Joinson 2001). Participation may
be a more pleasant experience for young people.
Research: OFGs can:
•Provide alternative domain for focus groups
•address power dynamics
•encourage participation
•facilitate dynamic communication
•benefits of reduced cost & increased speed
Beyond research situation: OFGs may:
•Facilitate networks of peer support
•Inclusive for groups with appearance / health related concerns
which impede social functioning
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Catch 22 (2010).Young people and the digital divide. Catch 22; Policy & Research
Gaiser, T (1997). Conducting online focus groups; a methodological discussion. Social Science Computer Review, 15 (2),
135-144
Ginsburg, J.H, & Link, B.G (1989). Feelings of stigmatisation in patients with psoriasis. Journal of American Academy in
Dermatology, 20, 53-63
Joinson A.N (2001) Self-disclosure in computer-mediated communication: the role of self awareness and visual
anonymity. European Journal of Social Psychology. 31, 177-92
Livingstone, S & Bober, M (April 2005) UK Children Go Online. Final report of key project findings. ESRC
O’Connor, H & Madge, C (2003) “Focus Groups in cyberspace”: Using the internet for qualitative research. Qualitative
Market Research: An International Journal, 6(2), 133-143
Robson, K (1999). Employment Experiences of Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease Sufferers, Unpublished PhD
Thesis, University of Wales, Cardiff
Selwyn, N & Robson, K (1998). Using email as a research tool. Social Research Update, 21.
http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/sru/sru21.html
Stewart, F., Eckerman, E & Zhou, K (1998). Using the internet in qualitative public health research: A comparison of
Chinese and Australian Young Women’s perceptions of tobacco use. Internet Journal of Health Promotion, URL,
http://www.monash.edu.au/health/IJHP/1998/12
Suzuki, L.K & Calzo, J.P (2004) The search for peer advice in cyberspace: An examination of online teen bulletin boards
about health and sexuality. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 25. (6) 685-698.
Tse, A.C.B (1999) Conducting electronic focus group discussions among Chinese respondents. Journal of the Market
Research Society, 41(407-415)
Wahl, A.K., Gjengedal, E.,& Hanestad, B.R (2002). The bodily suffering of living with severe psoriasis: In-depth
interviews with 22 hospitalised patients with psoriasis. Qualitative Health Research, 12(2), 250 - 261
Ward, K.J (1999). The cyber-ethnographic (re)construction of two feminist online communities. Sociological Research
Online, 4(1) available at; www.socresonline.org.uk/socresonline/4/1/ward.html
Williams, M (2003) ‘Virtually Criminal: Deviance and Harm within Online Environments’. Unpublished PhD Thesis,
University of Wales, Cardiff.
For more information please contact:
Fiona Fox
[email protected]