Focus groups as social enactments: integrating interaction and content in the analysis of focus group data

Abstract

This article argues that there is a need for more methodological discussions and examples upon how to include the social interaction element in analysing focus group data. It is suggested that from a practice theoretical perspective, focus group data (like other types of qualitative data) are understood as social enactments. The article gives examples of four different but related methodological tools of analysis that can help integrating interaction and content in analysing focus group enactments, namely tools from Goffman-inspired interaction analysis, conversation analysis, discourse psychology and positioning theory. The examples are unfolded on focus group data-material from a qualitative empirical research project on how Danish women cook and relate to normative issues in cooking, and the choice of specific examples of tools of analysis are linked to the specific knowledge interests of this research project.