The analysis of focus group data: A challenge to the rigour of qualitative research

Abstract

Focus groups have become increasingly popular as a source of data in nursing research. Although the methodological issues involved in this method of data collection have been addressed in the literature, there has been little work on the process of data analysis. This paper reports a case study that was undertaken to examine Hong Kong Chinese women's experiences and perceptions of screening for cervical cancer and considers some of the issues involved in the analysis of data from focus group interviews. In the first stage of the study, 100 women were given structured interviews. Subsequently, 52 of the women were recruited, using convenience sampling, to participate in focus groups, which provided the data for the second stage of the study. The 12 focus group interviews, undertaken in Chinese, were audiotaped, transcribed and translated. The process of analysing the data was found to be time-consuming and difficult. Factors such as the unit of analysis, dynamics within the groups, between-group variations, consistency of the data, and the translation, all contributed to the complexity of data analysis. During the focus group interviews, many topics were discussed which, although not directly related to the research question, were of interest to the researchers. Women's health beliefs and attitudes to sexuality are two examples. The challenges to the rigour of the research findings created by these methodological issues are considered.