Abstract
In recent years there has been an increasing recognition that both the content of focus group discussions and the interaction that takes place form indivisible facets of focus group data. Interaction, however, is not a neutral activity but one that is infused with the dynamics of power in wider society and in the immediate context of the discussion. I use Bourdieu’s notion of fields of power to analyse focus group discussions on national identity with South Sudanese diaspora in the UK. I argue that the micro-dynamics of power in focus group discussions have relevance to the relations of power in the population group from which participants are purposively sampled and, consequently, their observation enriches research findings. Further, I observe that the guidance literature on the conduct of focus group discussions encourages power-reduction strategies, and requires updating to allow space for the power-infused character of social interaction to manifest itself.
Highlights
For focus group practitioners, interaction between participants is a defining characteristic of the method: many consider it to be analytically indivisible from the ‘content’ of focus group data
It is inevitable that power will be manifest in focus group discussions – it is desirable
I have argued that power is under-theorised in focus group methodology, and undervalued as a rationale for selecting the method
Summary
Interaction between participants is a defining characteristic of the method: many consider it to be analytically indivisible from the ‘content’ of focus group data. The opportunity to directly observe participants’ interaction is recognised as key to its usefulness. Crucial as this development is, it does not go far Qualitative Research 19(3). Interaction is not neutral; rather, it is shaped by and revealing of the power relations that exist between group members. Insofar as the characteristics that define the selection of participants are meaningful categories, the micro-dynamics of power that play out in a focus group discussion are revealing of those that operate in the wider population. The ability to observe these power relations is a significant affordance of the method, and a major factor that would indicate its selection. Literature on the conduct of focus groups encourages strategies that serve to minimise power, and hide it from view
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