TRAINING PAPERS IN POPULATION AND FAMILY WELFARE EDUCATION IN THE WORKSETTING

Guidelines for studies

using the group
interview technique
Judi Aubel

International Labour Office Geneva World Employment Programme

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This publication is the outcome of a WEP project
 WORLD EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMME

Training Papers in Population and

Family Welfare Education in the Worksetting

Paper No. 2

Guidelines for studies

using the group interview technique

Judi Aubel

Published with the financial support of

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE GENEVA

Copyright International Labour Organization 1994
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First published 1994

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 Preface

The ILOs programme in Population and Family Welfare Education in the Workplace (PFWE)
initiated this training paper series to provide those directly involved in national programmes with the
concepts and methodologies required for effective implementation of activities. The first paper in
the series dealt with surveys for baseline data and impact assessment. This second paper provides
guidelines for using the group interview technique to develop an education and communication
strategy.

In recent years, group interviews, or focus groups as they are frequently called, have increasingly been
used in social development programmes and the PFWE programme is no exception. The group
interview technique enables programmes to collect rich information for developing educational
programmes and communication activities. However, the apparent simplicity of the method can lead
to misuse and abuse, as it is sometimes used for purposes for which it is inappropriate and unsuited.
Besides, implementation often lacks the rigour and prior analysis necessary for taking advantage of
the possibilities of the method for producing insightful, useful results. Thus the need was felt for
guidelines which would help programme managers and researchers implement high quality studies.

A number of manuals have been written on the use of the group interview technique. Unlike many
of the other available manuals, the present guidelines emphasize the involvement of project staff in
the research process in order to promote staff development and to initiate dialogue between the
project and its intended beneficiaries. The procedures proposed are those which experience suggests
project personnel can cope with, given the typical constraints on training, budgets and time as well
as the difficult field conditions which often prevail. In addition to methodological considerations, the
guidelines also provide practical advice for the organization and management of the study.

The synthesis provided in this paper is based on the authors first-hand experience in coordinating
studies using the group interview technique in Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Ecuador, Niger,
Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan and Tunisia.

It is hoped that these guidelines will provide those involved in social development programmes with
a useful tool for planning group interview studies and, more generally, for developing a fruitful
partnership with programme beneficiaries. We would like to acknowledge with thanks the financial
support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for the PFWE programme which is
responsible for this series.

E. Kenneth Andoh
Coordinator
Population Activities

iii
 Acknowledgement

The author would like to thank Catherine Hein

who revised and edited the manuscript and
Danielle Mathieux who prepared the document
for publication

iv
 Table of contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Acknowledgement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv

1. Introduction
Purpose of guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Group interview: What is it? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Choosing a data collection method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Linking research to programme planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2. Planning the study

Good quality studies require careful planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
STEP 1: Define the topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
STEP 2: Review existing literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
STEP 3: Constitute the study team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
A team with complementary skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Possible team members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
STEP 4: Identify information needs of programme managers . . . . 15
STEP 5: Develop a topic map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
STEP 6: Conduct social influence analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
STEP 7: Choose sample of interviewees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Types of group to be interviewed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Number of group interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Characteristics of participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Choosing the interview sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Size of groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Selecting group participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Should participants be paid? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Should the interview be tape-recorded? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
STEP 8: Define specific data collection objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
STEP 9: Develop group interview guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

3. Implementing the study

STEP 10: Select and train facilitators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

v
 Selection of facilitators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Basic principles of facilitator training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Training content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Principles of note-taking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
STEP 11: Conduct group interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
The interviewing schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Steps in the interviewing process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

4. Analysing and reporting the results

STEP 12: Analyse the data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Coding the data.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Interpreting the information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
STEP 13: Summarize findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Summaries for each type of group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Global summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
STEP 14: Working session with stakeholders to
formulate recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
STEP 15: Plan dissemination of results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
STEP 16: Finalize report(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
STEP 17: Evaluate implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

5. Activity calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

vi
Introduction 1

Purpose of guidelines
These guidelines are intended to provide information on the basic principles and techniques required
to use the group interview technique in population and family welfare education (PFWE) programmes
in developing countries. The group interview is a technique which can be used by programme
personnel to help them understand the attitudes, knowledge and values of the groups with which they
work and for whom they are designing programmes.

If you are planning to conduct a group interview study, it is suggested that you read through all steps
before beginning to plan and budget so that you know what is involved from start to finish.

Although most of the examples

Box 1.1: Research methodologies
in development programmes
In social development programmes and in the social
sciences in general, there is increasing interest in research potentially be used in many other
methodologies which are more flexible than conventional
methods and which rely more on qualitative data collection.
Michael Cornea (1990), a sociologist at the World Bank,
has called for a re-tooling of the social sciences to
incorporate more informal data collection methods into the
development programmes planning process.
More informal approaches to data collection in the fields
of agricultural and rural development have been formu-
lated as Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA, Chambers, 1987).
In the areas of health, nutrition and family planning, Rapid
Assessment Procedures (RAP) are being increasingly used
in Africa, Asia and Latin America (Schrimshaw and
Hurtado, 1987).
These guidelines borrow heavily on many of the insights
and techniques from both RRA and RAP.
can be useful in diverse types of programmes such as those for small businesses, cooperatives, worker
education, environmental preservation, agricultural extension or health education to help understand
beneficiaries perspectives at the outset.
used to illustrate these guidelines
are from population and family
welfare education programmes,
the group interview technique can
types of development projects
whenever an understanding of the
subjective perspective of project
partners (beneficiaries) or other
major actors is felt to be impor-
tant for planning activities. It is
increasingly realized that develop-
ment projects or programmes
often fail to reach their goals
because they were not based on
an adequate understanding of the
point of view of the people they
were trying to help. New infra-
structures may be abandoned,
health services under-utilized,
training programmes unattended
or new technologies rejected.
The group interview methodology

1
The group interview technique is
one method for obtaining qualita-
tive information about the point
of view of beneficiaries or other
project participants. Group inter-
views can be used at various
points in programme development
and implementation. These guide-
lines focus particularly on their
use prior to initial programme
design as they have frequently
been used in PFWE programmes.
This initial collection of informa-
tion is seen as a first step in esta-
blishing an on-going process of
dialogue between project person-
nel and beneficiaries prior to pro-
gramme design.
Box 1.2: Why is initial data
collection important?
Often in social development programmes, the educational
content is not appropriate or relevant to programme target
groups because it is based only on the technical knowledge
and priorities of programme managers and implementors,
and fails to take into account the opinions and experiences
of target group members.
In most cases, the perspective of the programme techni-
cians on family welfare topics differs from that of the target
group members. All communities have some knowledge,
beliefs and strategies related to health care, education and
training of children, environmental management, family
planning etc. The subjective perspective of the target
group members needs to be understood so that the
educational programme can build on their existing know-
ledge and beliefs and respond to their concerns.

Group interview: What is it?

The focus group interview is a semi-structured discussion of a given topic by a homogeneous group
of 610 individuals. The term semi-structured suggests that the discussion is not as rigidly
controlled as an interview using a standardized questionnaire, but neither is it an unstructured
conversation. The discussion is led by a trained facilitator who has a question guide and who
encourages the participants to respond to open-ended questions and thus reveal their knowledge,
opinions and concerns about a specified subject such as water supply, alcohol consumption, school
attendance of girls, community sanitation or union participation. It is not a way of conducting a
number of individual interviews in a group setting but rather a group process wherein participants
exchange ideas and opinions.

Depending on the topic, the study may include interviews with various types of group of key
categories of actors: for example, a study on union membership might include interviews with male
members, female members, non-member men and non-member women. If occupational category is
a factor affecting union membership, then groups of different occupational categories might be
interviewed.

2
In a well-facilitated group interview, participants usually feel at ease, are not pressured to answer
every question, have time to think about the questions asked, and often can gain confidence to answer
after hearing the responses of other participants. Whereas in an individual interview the conversation
is exclusively between the interviewee and interviewer, in the group discussion interaction between
the participants is encouraged. This tends to diminish the control which the interviewer has over the
group and to establish a relaxed atmosphere in which the participants interact quite spontaneously
with others in the group.

In the authors experience, interviewees usually enjoy participating in such discussions to the point
of sometimes forgetting that they are being interviewed and not wanting the discussion to end. It is
assumed that if participants are spontaneously expressing themselves, the validity of their answers is
greater. In societies where discussions with groups of family members and with others of the same
social group are common, the group interview has proven to be both appropriate and enjoyable for
participants.

Based upon the notes taken in each group discussion, the interview results are analysed by looking
at the different trends in the responses to major question areas both within and among groups.
Interpretation and insight on the part of the analysers play an important role in determining the
meaning of the results. The study report often includes direct quotations from participants to
illustrate what people say about the topic in their own terms.

Choosing a data collection method

No data collection technique is appropriate for all purposes.
The choice of a data collection technique should always be
based on the type of information required and the use
which will be made of it.
Therefore, before deciding on a research method, it is
essential to decide what information is needed: what do we
need to know in order to plan our programme? What
information is already available? Once we know what
information we need to collect, then the most suitable
method or methods can be identified. Time and budget
limitations inevitably will mean that priorities have to be
established concerning the questions.
The quantitative-qualitative distinction
Quantitative and qualitative research methods are funda-
mentally different approaches to studying human values and
behaviour. In many cases, a combination of qualitative and
quantitative methods would be the ideal if time and money
were unlimited. Some of the basic differences between
quantitative methods (in particular the sample survey) and
qualitative methods (such as indepth interviews of groups or
individuals, case studies, participant observation) are
summarized in Box 1.3. Guidelines for using survey methodology have been published in the first
training paper of this series (Yoon et al., 1992).

A major contrast between the two approaches is that while the aim of quantitative research is to
analyse peoples situations and behaviour from an outsiders objective perspective, the aim of
qualitative research is to understand those situations and behaviour from the insiders subjective
perspective. The fundamental characteristic of qualitative research is that it seeks to understand

3
values, beliefs, actions, norms, etc. through the eyes of those who are being studied. Major
differences between qualitative and quantitative research relate to how study samples are chosen, the
data collection techniques used and the type of relationship which exists between researcher and
researched.

Box 1.3: Contrasting characteristics of data collection methods

Characteristics Quantitative methods Qualitative methods

Sample representative sample of the purposive sample of the popula-

population, typically large
Technique standardized individual ques-
tionnaire
Scope of data assessment of a limited number
collected of factors of interest to the
researcher
Data analysis information collected is classi-
fied according to predetermined
categories (deductive process)
succinct, quantifiable, can be
presented in numerical tables
and analysed statistically
Interaction formal, structured relationship
with interviewees
tion, typically small
individual or group interviews,
observation, case studies
information to be collected is
broadly defined by researchers at
outset but can be expanded based
upon interviewees insights, ideas,
concerns
information is classified into cate-
gories which are identified in the
data itself through an inductive
process
extensive, descriptive, cannot be
succinctly presented, interpre-
tation more subjective
semi-structured, informal relation-
ship, attempt to get inside the
interviewees world

The sample
In survey research, data are collected from a representative sample of the population and the sample
is often large. The sample should be chosen according to statistical principles so that the results can
be applied to the total population from which the sample was obtained. In contrast, in qualitative
research, data are collected from a purposive sample which is usually quite small and cannot be
considered to be representative of any larger population.

The data collection technique and analysis

In survey research, the questionnaire is standardized so that each interviewee is asked exactly the
same questions in the same order. Data collection focuses thus on a limited number of factors which
are defined at the outset by the researchers. The answers can then be tabulated and the data
analysed according to predetermined categories of responses using statistical methods. In qualitative
research, on the other hand, the information to be collected is broadly defined at the outset but as
the data collection proceeds, the scope of the study can be modified based upon the insights acquired
from the earlier data collected. Qualitative data is analysed according to the categories of responses
found in the data itself. The analysis is therefore influenced by the insights and perceptions of the
researcher. Results are usually presented as trends rather than as percentages.

4
Relationship between researchers and researched
Research methods are usually considered exclusively in terms of the information which they generate.
However, another important facet of any research method is the nature of the relationship which it
establishes between the researcher and the researched.
The survey method tends to foster vertical and distant relationships between the researcher and
researched. Qualitative data collection, in general, and the group interview approach in particular,
can help programme implementors to foster more horizontal, collaborative communication
relationships between themselves and the target group. Indepth interviews can make interviewees
feel that their ideas and concerns are being taken into account and can help programme staff to learn
to take into account the opinions and concerns of the target group members.
These beneficial effects on the relationship between target group members and programme staff are
a major advantage of the group interview and one of the reasons why programme staff should be
directly involved in data collection where possible.

Deciding on a technique
Often when development projects decide to collect information about their ultimate target groups,
they automatically think of conducting a survey using a questionnaire. The now popular KAP
(knowledge, attitude and practices) survey, which was first used in the field of family planning, is
currently quite widely used in different types of health and family welfare programmes. Programme
managers tend to prefer surveys because they produce neat quantitative conclusions, such as the
percentage of women workers who report having experienced an incident of sexual harassment or the
percentage of men who say they oppose family planning on religious grounds.

It is often useful to be able to quantify factors such as the incidence of sexual harassment or the
rejection of family planning. If one wants information on the frequency of a characteristic in a given
population, a sample survey approach is needed. Such quantitative information based on a
representative sample is often also required to evaluate the impact of a project.

However, quantitative results alone are not

Box 1.4: Survey results can provide adequate for planning communication strate-
gies. For example, knowing that 18 per cent
an idea of the extent to which different
of the men interviewed are opposed to family
opinions or behaviour exist in the popula- planning for religious reasons is not sufficient
tion as reflected in answers to relatively
simple, direct questions;
for planning how to encourage them to adopt
a contraceptive method. We need to know
information about who in the target popu-
more about these mens religious beliefs and
lation has these particular attitudes or
behaviour; their ideals related to the family. Also there
information about the composition of the
may be other factors which explain this oppo-
sition which interviewees do not reveal in a
target population which can help identify
specific sub-groups of interest or with structural interview.
special problems.
A survey usually cannot provide detailed
insights into what people think or why they do
what they do: what problems they expect if
they use modern contraceptives; why many women only breast-feed for 6 months; or what priorities
have fathers related to the welfare of their children. In order to design an educational programme
which proposes modifications in peoples attitudes and practices, qualitative information is essential.

5
In practice, a combination of methods may be appropriate though not always feasible. For example:
at the beginning of a project working through enterprises, one might combine the use of a survey
of enterprises to find out about existing programmes and facilities, attitudes of managers and the
profile of their workforce with group interviews with different categories of workers in order to
orient the content of the project;
group discussions may precede sample surveys as a means of developing the questions and
categories to be used in the survey questionnaire or they may follow sample surveys to help with
the interpretation of the results.

Linking research to programme planning

A recurring problem in many countries is that research explicitly carried out for programme planning
purposes is not always usable by programme planners and managers. In many cases, research results
do not respond to the information needs of programme planners.

In some cases, this is because researchers do not fully understand the nature of the anticipated
programme intervention nor the practitioners information needs. In other instances, researchers have
their own research agendas which do not correspond to programme managers priorities.

The best way to assure the relevance of study results is to involve programme managers and other
programme staff in all phases of the planning and implementation of a study. The group interview
technique lends itself to staff participation and, in these guidelines, particular attention is given to how
programme managers and staff can be involved in research using group interviews.

Academic vs. action-oriented research

The goals of academic research and
action research are quite different,
as are the approaches to planning
and implementing them, and the use
of study results. Academic research
is usually conducted in order to test
conceptual hypotheses or to develop
theoretical principles or models.
Action research, on the other hand,
primarily aims to collect information
which can be immediately used to
help make practical decisions rela-
ted to programme planning and
implementation.
One of the aims of this document is
to demystify the research process
and to convince programme mana-
gers that not only highly trained
researchers can conduct research.
Programme staff can and should be
involved in conducting practical action research, and they do not need to depend exclusively on expert
researchers. The focus of these guidelines is on the use of group interviews as a tool for planning and
implementing development programmes rather than their use in academic research.

6
Action research and staff development
Most of the literature on the group interview methodology describes it as an efficient way of gathering
information from target group informants. However, the research exercise can also be viewed as a
learning experience for programme staff. The staff development aspect should be taken into
consideration in deciding which staff will be involved in the activity.

Group interview studies should be carried out using a collaborative action research approach. Such
an approach is appropriate for projects which are interested both in collecting data from target
groups and in staff development.

With regard to the potential for

learning, experiences in several
countries have shown that
through involvement in group
interview studies, programme
staff can learn to interact with
programme beneficiaries in a
non-directive fashion. In a sense,
conducting group interviews can
be seen as a training exercise
which teaches programme per-
sonnel how to listen to target
group members and how to un-
cover their beliefs and attitudes.
Thus, their communication skills
can be strengthened.
Box 1.5: Key characteristics
of collaborative action research
It is participatory. Programme staff and research
specialists are involved in all steps of the development
and implementation of the research project.
It is collaborative. It involves a cooperative research
process in which the members of the study team, who
have different experiences, positions and expertise, work
together.
It is a learning process. It is an occasion for the team
members to learn from each other, to learn from the
target group, and to reassess their own attitudes and
behaviour toward the target group.

Group interviews within PFWE programmes

In PFWE projects, group interviews have most frequently been used prior to the development of
education or communication strategies. They can be also used for the testing educational materials
although this usage is less frequent. In addition, they can be used as a technique for monitoring
programme implementation. Discussions with groups of beneficiaries or of trainers/motivators can
be organized during programme implementation in order to involve them in orienting programme
activities.

Using focus groups as a tool for monitoring programme implementation is relatively rare and should
be given greater consideration. In a project in India, for example, group interviews with motivators
and personnel managers provided useful information on the strengths and weaknesses of the
programme as it was being implemented.

In this paper, the focus is on the use of the group interview methodology as a tool for collecting
information to be used to develop education/communication activities. However, the same basic
approach can be used for a variety of other purposes.

Box 1.6 summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of focus group interviews. Some of the
disadvantages are inherent in the method while others can be overcome to some extent by careful
planning. Ways to overcome some of the disadvantages and potential problems will be discussed in
the sections on interviewer training, group facilitation and data analysis.

7
 Box 1.6: Pros and Cons of group interviews

Advantages
The group setting can potentially provide a
secure atmosphere in which participants can
spontaneously express their ideas.
Participants do not feel pressured to respond to
every question asked.
People generally enjoy being asked to discuss
their experiences and share their ideas in a
receptive group setting.
The flexible format allows the facilitator to
explore related but unanticipated topics or issues
as they arise in the discussion.
A wide range of information can be generated in
a short time.
They are often less expensive than studies which
require a random sample of interviewees.
Results are available more quickly to project
personnel, particularly when they participate
directly in the study.
The group exerts a certain degree of control over
participants which can dissuade them from giving
dishonest or false answers.
The technique fosters a flexible and fluid com-
munication process with project beneficiaries.
Participation by project personnel can improve
their communication skills.

Disadvantages
Interviewees are not representative of the target
population and results can not be treated statis-
tically.
Participants may be embarrassed to openly
discuss their own attitudes or behaviour related
to intimate topics, such as sexuality, in the group
setting.
Participants have a tendency to agree with the
opinions expressed by others in the group rather
than to express minority opinions.
More articulate group members can dominate
the discussion.
The quality of the data collected greatly depends
upon the skills and motivation of the facilitators.
The analysis and interpretation is more subjec-
tive than is that of survey data.

8
Planning the study 2

Good quality studies require careful planning

While the group interview technique is very attractive, the quality of the results of a focus group study
depends on:

collaboration amongst study

team members;
quality of the interview
guide;
careful selection and training
of facilitators;
composition of discussion
groups;
planning of logistics and ma-
terial concerns;
supervision of field work;
systematic analysis of results.

The methodology is not as easy to use as some focus group enthusiasts have suggested. It is relatively
easy to conduct an informal group discussion on a topic of relevance to group participants. However,
it is quite difficult to collect systematically and analyse information on the different facets of a given
topic and to formulate concise conclusions about interviewees knowledge and perceptions.

In many cases, group interview studies have been carried out without careful forethought on how the
results would be used and without sufficient planning of study implementation. The quality of study
results has often suffered since the information collected was incomplete, irrelevant, unanalysable
and/or inaccurate. These guidelines are intended to help programme personnel to plan good quality
studies which have direct application to programme content.

Seventeen steps have been identified which are important in planning and conducting studies using
group interviews (see Box 2.2). For each of the steps, the guidelines provide details concerning what
needs to be done and who should ideally be involved in carrying out the task. Box 2.2 suggests some
of the main activities involved in each step to give you a general overview of the process from start
to finish. In the guidelines, you will find details concerning not only the methodological aspects of
planning and implementation but the very practical aspects as well. When all the steps are
understood, a planning calendar should be developed for each step to specify the persons responsible

9
for each task and the planned completion of the dates. An example of an activity calendar is
presented in Chapter 5.

The steps proposed are specifically oriented to studies which collect information for the development
of education and communication strategies. If the methodology is used for other purposes, such as
programme monitoring, materials pre-testing etc., some modification in the steps would be required,
but the basic sequence of steps would in most cases remain the same.

Step 1
Define the topic
The first step in planning a study using group interviews is to identify the issue or topic to be studied.
The broad topic should be determined by the programme managers based upon programme activities
and priorities. This step is only the first of several steps in which the content of the research will be
progressively defined.

In a single study, the information which can be collected is necessarily limited. It is obviously not
possible to collect information both on a wide range of topics and also in great depth. A choice must
be made between the scope and the depth of data to be collected. It must be remembered that the
total discussion time should be one or one and a half hours and it should never exceed 2 hours.

Family welfare would be too broad a

Box 2.1: A major pitfall:
topic too broad
In some projects, group interview studies have
attempted to cover too many topics with the result
that none could be discussed in detail. The
information obtained was superficial and generally
unsatisfactory.
A study done in a youth project, for example,
sought to collect information on job skills and
training needs, work experience, drugs, sexual
behaviour, knowledge of sexually-transmitted
diseases, use and knowledge of contraception,
knowledge about sterility, leisure activities, club
activities, marriage and family aspirations.
Due to the vast array of information sought, little
insight was acquired into any of these topics.
topic and the focus of a study should be
one priority aspect of family welfare such
as decision-making concerning household
resources, alcohol abuse, family size ideals,
sex education of adolescents, AIDS, family
planning methods. In cases where a pro-
gramme covers several discrete areas such
as family planning, occupational health and
family resource management, a series of
interviews should be conducted to address
each of these topics.
The topics suggested above are still very
broad and one would need to clarify which
particular issues would be addressed on a
given topic. Several of the later steps in
the planning process concern the specilica-
tion of the information to be collected.

Step 2
Review existing literature
Once the topic has been decided, an important step is to review previous work which has already
been done on that same topic. This can include reports of research, theses prepared by students in
national training schools, reports prepared by national ministries, international organizations etc.

10
Box 2.2: Steps and main tasks

Step Activities/Tasks

1. define the topic organize meeting with programme managers

2. review existing literature identify related literature
review literature and prepare short summary
3. constitute the study team select programme managers
select methodology coordinator(s)
select programme field staff
select logistics and materials coordinator
4. identify information needs of organize working session with programme
programme managers managers and study team members
5. develop a topic map construct draft topic map
study team meeting to discuss map and summary of related
literature (from Step 2)
6. choose social influence analysis working session to identify target groups to
interview
7. choose sample of interviewees define characteristics of groups to be interviewed
determine number of group interviews
complete Group Interview Schedule worksheet
complete group interview sites planning worksheet
8. define specific study objectives working session to define study objectives
9. develop group interview guide develop group interview guide
pre-test and revise interview guide
10. select and train group facilitators select interviewers
identify trainers
plan training session curriculum
prepare training materials
conduct training
11. conduct group interviews develop field work calendar
make preliminary contact with organizational or community
leaders
invite target group members at each site to participate in
study
conduct group interviews
12. analyse the data code and interpret data after each interview
13. summarize findings prepare summaries for each type of group
prepare global summary
14. discuss findings with stakeholders and working session with stakeholders and formulation of
formulate recommendations recommendations
15. plan diffusion of results working session to develop strategy for diffusion of study
results
16. prepare report(s) prepare study report(s)
copy and distribute reports
17. evaluate implementation working session with study team members to evaluate study
implementation
prepare report of lessons learned

11
 In developing country settings, it is
Box 2.3: Objectives of literature review often difficult and time-consuming
to collect such documentation and,
to collect statistical information related to the topic therefore, this task should be started
and to the target group; as early as possible. The task is
to begin to identity the aspects of the problem to be complicated because in many cases,
studied which others have identified as pertinent; libraries and documentation centres
to review the methodological approach used in other are not systematically supplied with
qualitative studies; documents, and documents may not
to identify existing knowledge gaps in previous be well-organized and/or easily
research and questions still not answered. accessible. Copies of reports and
studies prepared by or for ministries
often exist in limited quantity and
may be difficult to obtain. Finding
documents often requires a creative and mainly informal strategy to identify individuals who know of
and/or who have access to the relevant literature. Possible sources of information are listed in
Box 2.4.

The collection and review of the information should be carried out by someone who is involved with
the programme or project who can assess whether the available information is relevant or not for the
purposes of the study. It is preferable that the person given responsibility for this task be also a
member of the study team.

The collected documents should be

reviewed and a short summary pre-
pared related to the objectives for
the review listed in Box 2.3. This
summary should be presented to the
study team in Step 5 when they
begin to develop the aspects of the
topic to be studied. The person
responsible for the literature review
should also work closely with the
methodology coordinator to help
develop the topic map (in Step 5).
Box 2.4: Where can the literature be found?
Ministries of health, social affairs, community deve-
lopment, education.
Training schools and universities.
Documentation centres and libraries.
International organizations (ILO, UNICEF, UNFPA,
WHO, FAO, UNDP, World Bank, UNESCO).
Bilateral assistance agencies.

Step 3
Constitute the study team
If the decision has been made to contract the study out to one or more consultants, this step will be
of less importance because they will probably assume responsibility for all aspects of study
development and implementation. Normally the study should not be conducted on a subcontract
basis given the premise that it should be viewed not only as a means of generating information, but
also as a staff development exercise. Research concepts and techniques should be provided by the
methodology coordinator(s) who is a member of the team and who is hired as a local consultant.

A team with complementary skills

In planning a study which follows a collaborative action research approach, individuals with qualitative
research skills are necessary but not sufficient. The study team should also include persons who are

12
involved with the implementation of the programme for which the research is being conducted.
Determination of the composition of the team should be based on the skills required to plan and
conduct the study as well as on staff development priorities.

Five types of knowledge and skills should be

Box 2.5: Not everyone is suited for
qualitative field work
In the authors experience, study teams have
consistently stated that conducting group interview
studies is a very demanding activity, both physical-
ly and intellectually. The nature of such studies
requires that participants be prepared to work
long days, to work beyond 6 oclock in the eve-
ning, to eat at irregular times and often to ride on
bumpy, dusty roads. This type of work does not
appeal to everyone. Those who enjoy it tend to be
individuals who have a commitment to the deve-
lopment of poor and disenfranchised communities
and are interested in learning.
In choosing team members, it is important to
discuss the characteristics of the field work with
potential team members and to give them some
say in whether or not they will participate. In
some cases, programme managers have obliged
individuals who were not really interested in this
type of field work to participate. This has someti-
mes resulted in severe problems such as unhappy
team members who infect others with their dis-
couragement. In such situations, the quality of the
work tends to suffer.
represented on the team:
indepth understanding of the family
welfare programme content and priori-
ties;
skills in qualitative data collection
methods;
familiarity with the communities or
target groups to be interviewed;
fluency in the local language;
skills in planning and managing logis-
tical and material resources necessary
for the study.
It is important that all team members
understand and accept the concept of an
interdisciplinary team composed of persons
with complementary knowledge and skills.
They must understand the notion of team
work in which individuals with different
levels of education and experience share
with and learn from each other. A spirit
of democratic collaboration contributes to
the effectiveness of the team and to the
success of the study.

Possible team members

Programme managers or coordinators

In order to assure a good fit between the results of the study and the information needed for
programme planning, programme managers should be members of the study team. Ideally, all team
members, including the programme managers, should participate in all phases of study development
and implementation. In the case of programme managers, it may be impossible for them to
participate as full-time team members. Nevertheless, they should participate as much as possible in
the process so that they assume ownership for the study. This will increase the likelihood that they
will later use the results of the study. At a minimum, they should be involved in identifying the study
objectives (Steps 1, 4 and 8), developing the recommendations based on findings (Step 14) and
planning how the results will be diffused and used (Step 15).

Methodology coordinator(s)
The team should include one or more persons who have considerable prior experience planning and
carrying out research based upon qualitative interviewing. It is suggested that such individuals be
referred to as methodology coordinators rather than research experts or some other term which
might indicate a superior status on the team. In addition, the coordinator(s) must be committed to
involving programme staff and have skills in group facilitation.

13
Responsibilities: As the title suggests, the methodology coordinator is responsible for coordinating
all the technical aspects of the study, participating directly in the data collection, supervising the other
interviewers, facilitating the analysis of the data and coordinating the writing of the final report.

Qualifications: Individuals trained in sociology, psychology or anthropology are obvious potential

candidates, however, the search should not be limited to such persons. More important than their
academic degrees is their experience. Individuals trained in community development, health
education or adult education, who also have considerable experience with qualitative research, might
be appropriate coordinators as well.

The skills required to collect quantitative data are very different from those required for qualitative
data collection. Therefore, someone whose experience is exclusively in quantitative research would
not be an appropriate choice for methodology coordinator for a group interview study.

Personal qualities: Some researchers are not familiar with the team work concept and may not easily
accept to work with non-researchers. The collaborative nature of the research process should be
explained to potential candidates to ensure that they will feel comfortable working on a team where
the respective experience and skills of each team member must be drawn out and respected.

Number required: A methodology coordinator can work with one team of interviewers per day. In
other words, if more than one team of interviewers at a time is in the field conducting interviews,
each will require a methodology coordinator. On the other hand, if data collection is completed in
one area by one team of interviewers and interviews are to be conducted later in a second area, then
one methodology coordinator would be sufficient.

The duration of the field work will therefore be affected by the number of methodology coordinators
available. Given that methodological expertise may be rare and expensive, the maximum number of
coordinators would likely be two.

Programme field staff

The study team should also include
programme field staff or other indivi-
duals who have direct experience wor-
king with the communities or target
groups to be interviewed. In projects
in the organized sector, this might
include trade union trainers, worker
motivators or health worksite staff. In
informal sector projects, this could be
community workers who work, for
example, with womens groups at the
village level. It is normally not feasi-
ble to involve all field workers in the
study team, but it is valuable to inclu-
de a few of them from the geographic
/cultural areas in which the program-
me is being implemented.
The special knowledge which field
staff can contribute to the study team
is an in-depth understanding of the socio-cultural, linguistic and psychological realities of the members
of the target groups which the programme managers and methodological coordinators often do not
Box 2.6: Advantages of including
field stuff on the research team
In Burkina Faso, the three male sociologists who were
the methodology coordinators on a qualitative family
planning study concluded that the involvement of
female field workers who resided in each of the re-
search areas was invaluable. The field staff were able
to explain to the coordinators the meaning of certain
local concepts and expressions used by women in the
interviews which the sociologists were unable to under-
stand even though they were conversant in the langua-
ges in which the interviews were conducted.
In Niger, the involvement of female nurses from com-
munity clinics was invaluable in helping the male health
educators who served as methodology coordinators to
understand mothers concepts related to diarrhoeal
disease.

14
have. Such insights are particularly valuable in the collection and analysis of qualitative data from
that particular target group. In addition, the familiarity which field staff have with the organization
of the workplace or the community will facilitate the teams contact with and entry into those settings.

The main team

Box 2.7: The responsibilities of the field staff include cannot usually con-
duct all the group
making preliminary contacts with the communities or target groups to be interviews. Additio-
interviewed; nal facilitators and
arranging for the identification of group participants; note-takers will
facilitating or observing group discussions; need to be selected
participating in the data analysis. and trained as des-
cribed in Step 10.

Logistical and materials coordinator(s)

The success of any study depends

to a great extent upon the quality
of the logistical planning done
prior to and during study imple-
mentation. It is critical that one
or more persons be chosen to co-
ordinate all the logistical arrange-
ments for both preparatory and
field work phases. The logistical
planning, particularly for the field
work, is time-consuming and it
needs to be started as early as
possible. In Step 7, when the in-
terview sites are chosen, a detailed
site visit plan can be developed.
The logistical coordinator should
accompany the study team during
the field work to assure all logisti-
cal arrangements. This will allow
the methodological coordinator(s) to devote all their time to the data collection and analysis activities.
Further details related to arrangements at the site are given in Step 11.
Box 2.8: Responsibilities of the logistical
and-materials coordinator(s)
preparation of a budget for all materials and field work
expenses;
purchase of materials for the training, data collection
/analysis and for report writing and duplication;
arranging board and lodging;
arrangements for locale of group interview;
arrangements for refreshments for participants;
ensuring recording equipment is operational;
arrangements for vehicles, drivers and petrol;
assuring that provincial level authorities are properly
informed of the activity in order to elicit their collabo-
ration.

Step 4
Identify information needs of programme managers
A critical step in the process of planning a group interview study is to consult with programme
managers in order to get them to identify their expectations of the study. Step 4 usually consists of
a working session of 2-3 hours, attended by the programme managers and all the study team
members.

15
This step is important for several reasons
to ensure that the study results respond to programme managers information needs;
so that programme managers and staff assume ownership of the study and are committed to using
results; and
so that the methodological coordinators have a clear understanding of the dimensions and
priorities of the programme for which the study is being conducted.

Useful and usable information

In many cases, the programme managers may not have precise ideas of what they want to learn from
the study. Through discussions with them, they can reflect on the information which they need for
programme planning purposes and gradually define those needs in a precise way based on the use
which they will make of the information to design the education and communication activities and
materials of the project.

Preliminary discussions
with programme managers Box 2.9: Information needs
also provide an occasion for a communication programme
for all the study team
members to clarify their Suppose the topic for the study is the diet and work of women
expectations and acquire a during pregnancy. To help plan a communication strategy which
clear and common under- builds on current knowledge and beliefs and which addresses certain
standing of the program- norms and practices that are prejudicial to the health of pregnant
mes priority information women and their baby, team discussions might identify the following
information needs:
needs. In qualitative data
collection, much more so what are the traditional beliefs which support specific dietary
than in survey research, it practices during pregnancy?
is essential that intervie- are nutritional facts about diet during pregnancy understood?
wers have good compre- are specific local terms used to talk about these practices?
hension of the objectives what are the arguments given in favour of each specific practice?
and the end product ex- who are the influential persons in womens surroundings who
pected from the research. promote these practices?
While the scope of data to what role do husbands, older women play in influencing dietary
be collected does not ulti- practices during pregnancy?
mately need to be limited
to the information which
the programme managers identify as priorities, it is important that their priorities are elicited at the
outset. Based upon these discussions, the content of the study will be defined in steps 5 and 6.
It is important to remember that the information collected must be relevant to designing the
educational and communication activities and materials of the project. We are looking for ideas on
how we can build on current knowledge and beliefs of the target groups and appeal to important
aspirations and motivations. A specific example is presented in Box 2.9.

Step 5
Develop a topic map
Step 5 is the next step in progressively defining the content of the study. The development of a topic
map will provide study team members with a visual representation of the scope of the information

16
sought and will also help them to think holistically about the different aspects of the topic or problem
to be studied such as maternal health or family planning.

Conducting qualitative research has been referred to as a discovery process in which the different
aspects of a given situation or problem are progressively uncovered as the data is being collected and
analysed. Similarly, the development of the topic map by the study team begins during the planning
phase and can be modified and completed as the team carries out the study.

Usually when research is planned, a list is
each of the items is formulated as a study
and constructing a model or map of the
to think about the relationships between
factors in isolation.
made of priority aspects of the topic to be studied and then
question. The difference between making a list of topics
topic to be studied is that the latter helps the investigators
different factors or aspects rather than thinking of those

This inter-relational perspective is very useful during data collection and also later when educational
strategies are being developed. In addition, the visualization of the different aspects of the problem
to be studied serves as a useful tool for communicating with those involved in the study to ensure that
everyone has a clear understanding of the scope and categories of information sought. Following the
field work phase, when the study methodology and findings are being presented, the map can also
help communicate with others who were not part of the process.

Following the discus-

sions in Step 4, the
methodology coordina-
tor, along with one or
more of the other team
members, can construct
an initial topic map
based upon the priority
categories of informa-
tion to be collected.
The task involves deter-
mining the relationships
between the different
items of information to
be collected.

For example, there may

be interest in knowing
the target groups con-
cept of a large and a
small family. In the topic map, adjacent to a box entitled family the team might construct sub-
boxes entitled concept of large family and concept of small family (see example of topic map).
The team may decide that not only do they want to know peoples concepts of large and small family
but also their opinions about the advantages and disadvantages of each. Additional sub-boxes entitled
advantages and disadvantages could be added to both the boxes indicating the two family types.
Construction of the map proceeds in this way based upon ongoing discussion and clarification by the
team members of the types of information they are looking for.

The map can be drawn with marking pens on a large piece of flip-chart paper and hung on the wall
during study team discussions. The map will undoubtedly be revised and/or recopied many times.
Therefore, it need not be drawn on expensive poster board until the end of the study when the last
version of the map is completed.

17
Example of topic map for study on family planning
At this stage, the summary of previous research and documentation on the problem (from Step 2)
should be presented to the study team. This information may help the team identify additional
relevant aspects or dimensions of the problem which should be included in the study. The team
members own experience working, for example, in child health or family planning programmes will
also provide other ideas of the aspects of those areas which could be investigated. As other aspects
of the problem are identified, they can be incorporated into the problem map.

As stated earlier, one study cannot collect an infinite amount of information. Decisions about what
to include should be based upon whether or not specific types of information are of practical
relevance to the programme or not. For example, while it would certainly be interesting to collect
detailed information on traditional methods of treating sterility, this information may not be a priority
for the programme. In this case it should not be included in the map. In Step 8, specific study
objectives will be formulated for each of the elements included in the topic map.

Step 6
Conduct social influence analysis
Following the development of the topic map (Step 5), the session can continue to the next step which
is to identify the different groups in the population from whom information should be collected. This
simply involves having the group respond to the question: Who is knowledgeable about or
significantly influences the topic or problem to be studied?

A shortcoming of many health and social

sector studies is that information is collected Box 2.10: Who influences?
only from those most directly concerned with
a given problem. For example, in studies on In the case of child nutrition, while the mother
child nutrition typically only mothers are may have the main responsibility, often
grandmothers influence what foods children are
interviewed. In studies on family planning given and how they are prepared. Fathers may
often only women are interviewed. While also be involved, making decisions about the
women play a major role in both child nutri- use of household resources for purchasing food.
tion and family planning, in both these cases,
Older siblings frequently have some responsibi-
others in the social environment influence lity for or influence on the food consumption of
the decisions regarding what and how chil- young children in the family. If a study aims to
dren are fed, and whether or not a family arrive at a holistic understanding of the com-
planning method is used. munitys knowledge and practices related to
child nutrition, information should ideally be
In deciding which groups to include in a collected from each of these groups.
study, practical considerations of time and In the case of girls occupational options,
resources must be considered. Data collec- schoolgirls, their parents, teachers, employers
tion should concentrate on those groups and male trainees all are knowledgeable about
which are believed to be the most influential. or can influence girls occupational choices. By
including each of these groups in a study on
this topic, the concerns and attitudes of each
In planning a study on family planning which could be understood so that specific interven-
was carried out in rural areas of Burkina tions for each group can be developed based on
Faso, the study team made a list of the types that information.
of person who are knowledgeable about or
who influence practices related to the use or
non-use of modern family planning methods.
After considerable discussion, the team members developed the following list: adolescent females;
adolescent males; married women; married men; and older women. They agreed that it would be
important to collect information from each of these groups in order to have a comprehensive
understanding of community knowledge and attitudes related to family planning.

19
The team was then asked to prioritize the groups given that it might not be feasible to interview all
five of them. They decided on the following order of priorities: a) married women; b) married men;
c) adolescent girls; d) older women; e) adolescent boys. As it later turned out, given the time and
resources available for the study, it was not possible to interview the adolescent boys.

In the above example, the groups identified were all community-level groups. Depending on the
project context, the analysis of social influence is not necessarily limited to community target groups.
Persons such as social workers or enterprise health staff may also be considered to influence family
planning decisions and should be included as groups to be interviewed. In a study on diarrhoeal
disease conducted in the Cameroon, for example, the social influence analysis identified both
community and health sector groups to be interviewed including: mothers, fathers, grandmothers,
traditional healers, pharmacy workers and health workers.

Step 7
Choose sample of interviewees
The social influence analysis (Step 6) will already have suggested the main types of group to be
interviewed. In this step, other decisions must be made regarding exactly who will be included in the
study sample. Defining the sample will require discussions between study team members and
programme managers which take into consideration both the methodological and practical
considerations.

The choice of the study sample must

Box 2.11: Steps in choosing the sample take into account various logistical
factors and the availability of human
The choice of the sample of individuals who will parti- and material resources. From a
cipate in the group interviews involves deciding: practical perspective, logistical fac-
the types of group to be interviewed; tors include the distance to potential
the number of groups of each type to be interviewed; study sites, road conditions, travel
the specific characteristics of the participants in each
time etc. This is not to suggest that
type of group;
the sites which are the farthest away
the number and location of the interview sites;
the number of participants per group; and the most difficult and time-con-
the process for selecting group participants. suming to get to should be elimina-
ted from the sample. In fact, it has
been found that in many studies
there is a tendency to exclude sites
which are further from the capital city, further from the tarmac and with poorer roads. It is
important that this tendency be avoided as much as possible. A general principle is that it is better
to do a limited number of groups well than to stretch your resources and end up with poor quality
interviews too numerous to analyse.

Types of group to be interviewed

In Step 6, the priority groups to be interviewed were identified, for example, married women and
married men. These categories may need to be broken down into sub-groups. Taking the example
of Burkina Faso above, if it is assumed that the perspective of young married women from 15 to
25 years of age on family planning is different from that of married women between 30 and 45 years
of age, these should constitute two different types of group. If the two age categories also apply to
men, then 4 types of group would be needed. In addition, there would be groups of adolescent
women, older women and adolescent boys for a total of 7 types.

20
If ethnic or religious differences are thought to be important, one might consider separate groups for
each religion. However adding this dimension would mean doubling the number of group types to
14 which would be too many. In the Burkina Faso case, it was decided rather to constitute groups
from the dominant ethnic group where the study took place. Also, seven groups was considered too
many and the adolescent boys were not included.

Number of group interviews

The general rule related to the num-

ber of groups to interview is that for
each type of group, three or four
interviews should be conducted and at
a minimum there should be two
groups of each type. With homoge-
neous groups, the trends in the ans-
wers usually become repetitive after
three or four groups. The necessity
for at least two groups of each type
must be kept in mind when determi-
ning the different types of group to
include.
Box 2.12: Considerations
to be taken into account
a team of at least 2 persons, including a methodo-
logy coordinator, is needed for each interview;
only one interview per day can be scheduled since
the team will need the rest of the day for analysis;
the time available for completing the study may be
limited;
the costs must be covered by the budget available
for travel and per diems.

Characteristics of participants
The basic principle to be applied in defining the composition of groups is homogeneity or similarity
between the members of each group to be interviewed.

In general, people feel more comfortable in a group with others who are similar to them in gender,
age, socioeconomic status etc. When participants feel at ease to respond in the group, they tend to
respond spontaneously to the questions. For example, women do not feel comfortable to express
themselves openly if there are men in the group. If adolescent girls are in the same group with
women over 40 years of age, this can discourage the adolescent girls from spontaneously saying what
they think. Similarly, constituting groups which include poor farmers and doctors, would not create
an environment in which the labourers were very confident to express themselves.

The characteristics required for each type of group need to be clearly defined so that field workers
can correctly recruit participants. For example, if participants with a low educational level are
required, then researchers would need to specify exactly what is meant by low educational level.

While the characteristics of group members must be carefully defined, defining criteria too narrowly
greatly increases the cost of the study. For example, if a specific educational criteria is defined as
women with between 2 and 5 years of education, the effort and hence cost involved in identifying
such women is much greater than to find women with limited formal education or less than 5 years.

Choosing the interview sites

In a qualitative study, any sites which have persons with the characteristics defined for each type of
group can potentially be included in the sample. They do not need to be chosen at random as in a
quantitative study.

21
Future project activities often determine the particular sites of interest

In some cases, the interview sites are already given, for example a pilot project based in three
communities.
In enterprised-based projects, the choice of enterprises may be limited to those enterprises which
have decided to participate in the project.
If the project is concerned with specific types of workers, for example, women manual workers,
groups would be chosen from factories where there are significant numbers of these women.

For projects intending to work with a number of cooperatives or groups in rural areas, it is advisable
that sites not be concentrated exclusively in one geographic area, nor all close to the national or
district capital unless these are the only areas where the project will be working.

The use of a
Box 2.13: Worksheet for planning group interview sites planning work-
sheet, as shown
Number of groups of each type per site in the region of Kaolack in Box 2.13, can
Interview sites females 1520 married women married men be very useful in
(2 groups) (3 groups) (2 groups) deciding on in-
terview sites and
Salon 1 1 types of group to
Fatik 1 1 1 be interviewed at
Bandung 1 1 each site. Once
the team has
identified propo-
sed sites, the logistics coordinator can work out the distances and travel time to those sites to
determine whether those choices are logistically feasible. It may be necessary to modify the number
of groups or the specific sites once this planning is done. Preparing the interviewing schedule can be
a tedious and time-consuming task and, therefore, should be started as soon as the discussions about
the sample are under way.

Size of groups
There is generally agreement that the number of participants to include in each group interview
should be between 6 and 10 persons. Experience has shown that this range of size of groups is
appropriate for at least two reasons:
all participants can contribute their ideas to the discussion;
in larger groups, sub-groups of participants often start their own conversations and facilitation of
the group is more difficult.

Selecting group participants

As with the choice of the study sites, any individual who has the characteristics defined for the
particular type of group can potentially be included in the sample. It is preferable, however, that
members of the same family not be included in the same interview group. Participants do not have
to be randomly chosen.

The actual process for selecting group participants should be decided by the team. One of the team
members or other programme staff who are already working with the enterprises, cooperatives or
communities included in the study sample should be responsible for ensuring that participants are
selected at each site.

22
Whether the sites are enterprises, coopera-
tives, communities or other locations, the
person given this responsibility should first
personally contact the authority or leader of
those entities to obtain their collaboration,
explain the purpose and organization of the
study and the characteristics of the partici-
pants required. It is important to convey
this information personally and also in
writing so that the study teams expectations
are clearly understood. Their help will
probably be needed to identify potential
interviewees, to invite them to participate
and to arrange the interview location.
Box 2.14: Information to be provided
in writing
composition and size of the groups to be inter-
viewed: it is important to explain the ratio-
nale for the size of the groups, 6 to 10 per-
sons. People often think that the bigger the
group, the better. It is often assumed that
the visiting team will be impressed if the
groups are larger;
date and time of each interview;
criteria for selection of group participants.

Giving the contact persons at the sites clear information about the teams objectives and expectations
will help ensure that when the team arrives, they will find the appropriate type and number of
interviewees informed and ready to participate.

Should participants be paid?

In a number of recent publications on

Box. 2.15: The authors experience
The discussion of this issue with study teams has
always led to the conclusion that remunerating inter-
viewees in any way would set a bad precedent and that
interviewees should decide whether or not they want
to participate without any promises of remuneration.
If participants are required to travel to the interview
site, travel expenses could be covered by the budget
for the study. In most cases, however, participants are
interviewed at or very close to their place of work or
residence. Light refreshments might be provided after
the interview.
the use of the focus group methodolo-
gy, prepared by social marketing orga-
nizations, it is suggested that group
participants should be paid or other-
wise remunerated for participating in
the interviews. This practice is not
recommended for health and family
welfare programmes in developing
countries. The decision should be
based not upon the availability of
financial resources for such expenses
but rather on whether or not it would
set an appropriate precedent.

Should the interview be tape-recorded?

The responses of the group interviewees must be carefully recorded. Given that the focus of our
discussion here is on the use of group interviews in the context of programme research in Third
World settings, manual note-taking is considered essential. The main question is whether, in addition,
the interview should be tape-recorded.

The advantage of taping the interviews is that the amount of information which is recorded and saved
is greater. It is not possible for a note-taker to write down everything the interviewees say and it is
not easy to ensure good note-taking for it requires training and practice.

However, experience using tape-recorders in the field has revealed various constraints associated with
their use (see Box 2.16).

23

Box 2.16: Constraints
related to tape-recording
The use of tape-recorders depends upon their availa-
bility as well as on a sufficient supply of batteries.
These resources are often not available outside of
large cities.
Costs of tape-recorders and batteries will make the
study more expensive.
The time required to transcribe the tapes is long. For
each hour of interviewing time it can take between 2
and 3 hours to transcribe or to take notes from the
tape. For a 1 hour interview, at least 4 hours would
be required to transcribe it. In the field, when inter-
view data must be analysed immediately after it is
collected, the time and effort required to transcribe.
the tapes is a real constraint. A compromise can be
to listen to the recording immediately after the
interview and add elements missing in the observers
notes.
The technology may fail. The tape-recorder itself may
not work; the batteries may be dead; or the cassette
may be defective. These problems can occur in spite
of attempts to avoid them.
Sometimes the recording is entirely or partially
unintelligible. If the team was to depend exclusively
on the tape, all the interview data might be lost.
During the planning phase, the
study team should consider the
advantages and disadvantages of
tape-recording. If it is decided to
tape the interviews, it is advisable
that the taping and transcribing
process be tried out before training
the interviewers so that the steps in
the process and the time required
are clear.
If it is decided to tape the inter-
views, it is essential that the facilita-
tor explain to the group the reason
for recording the discussion and ask
their permission to do so. If the
group is not in agreement, the tape-
recorder should not be used.
During the group interviews, the
rapporteur(s) have the main respon-
sibility for tape-recording and note-
taking. In addition, the group facili-
tator should take as many notes as
possible. It is advisable to have 2
rapporteurs if possible if the inter-
view is not tape-recorded.

Step 8
Define specific data collection objectives
Based upon the discussions in Step 4 and development of the topic map in Step 5, this step involves
determining specifically what information is to be collected on each aspect of that problem. This
involves formulating specific data collection objectives for each of the types of group to be
interviewed.

The group interviewers will have a question guide to help them facilitate the discussion. However,
more important than their mastery of the questions in the guide is their understanding of the
underlying objectives of the study. The process of formulating these objectives forces the study team
to define for themselves the precise questions which the data collection will seek to answer. In
addition, the detailed discussion and development of the objectives should help assure that all team
members have the same understanding of them. During data analysis, the specific study objectives
serve as the framework for data analysis.

For each of the types of group to be interviewed, specific objectives should be developed. While the
objectives for the different groups will probably differ somewhat, many of the questions will be the
same. Therefore it is not necessary to develop entirely different lists of objectives.

Specific objectives primarily address participants perceptions, beliefs and attitudes rather than their
personal practices. An example of the specific objectives of a study is given in Box 2.17.

24
Box 2.17: Example of data collection objectives
from a study on family planning

Women 2035 years, married with children

Value of children
to understand the value of children in the society;
to know whether there is a preference for boys or girls and if so, the
reasons for this preference.
Family size
to know how a small family is defined;
to know how a large family is defined;
to know the advantages and disadvantages of a small family;
to know the advantages and disadvantages of a large family;
to know whether religion has an influence on family size preferences.

Decision-making related to reproduction

to know who influences the number of children a woman has;
to know who influences the timing of a womans pregnancies;
to understand the influence of religion (Islam, Catholicism, Protes-
tantism, animism) on the use of modern contraceptive methods.
Perceptions concerning birth-spacing
to find out perceptions of the usual interval between births;
to find out the ideal interval between births;
to identify perceived advantages and disadvantages of closely-spaced
births;
to identify perceived advantages and disadvantages of widely-spaced
births.
Perceptions of traditional practices related to birth-spacing
to find out what traditional practices are known;
to find out explanations for existence of traditional practices;
to know perceived efficacy of traditional practices and current
usefulness.
Knowledge of modem methods of family planning/birth spacing
to know whether they have heard about family planning;
to know how they define family planning;
to know the popular terms used for the different modern contracep-
tive methods;
to identify the perceived advantages of modern contraceptive
methods;
to identify perceived disadvantages and constraints to use.
Sources of information on modem methods of contraception
to know the sources of information on family planning (mass media
and interpersonal communication).
Perceived link between pregnancy and maternal and child health
to know if pregnancy is seen to have an influence on the mothers
health;
to know if closely-spaced pregnancies are seen to have an influence
on the new-borns health.
Sterility
to know how sterility is defined;
to know how they explain female sterility;
to know whether they are aware of male sterility.

25
 Step 9
Develop group interview guides
Based upon the specific objectives developed in Step 8, group interview guides must be developed
for each kind of group to be interviewed. A group interview guide consists of a series of
approximately 1520 questions which help the interviewer to facilitate the group discussion. Each
question will probably need to be followed up by probing questions as will be discussed in Step 10
as part of interviewer training.

A group interview guide is different from a questionnaire used in a survey. Whereas the
questionnaire should be used in a structured and similar way by each interviewer, the group interview
guide is a much more flexible instrument which can be adapted and modified by each interviewer.

Development of the group interview

Box 2.18: Some ideas
on question formulation
Formulate questions in the third rather than the second
person. In group interviews, the unit of data analysis
is the group and consequently, individual answers are
not important in and of themselves. Furthermore, in
the case of intimate topics related to sexuality and
family relations, directly asking about participants
own beliefs etc. may be embarrassing. Rather than
asking, how many children do you hope to have?
which can be a very delicate question in many tradi-
tional societies, the question could be asked, how
many children do women usually wish to have?
Hypothetical questions can help give an idea of com-
mon practices and attitudes. For example, what do
mothers tend to do when they find out their young
daughter has a boyfriend?
Exploring images can be useful for developing com-
munication materials. One might ask, for example,
what is a woman of 40 who, by choice, has only
three children like? or what is a woman who has
three children in three years like? Initial answers
would give an idea of the salient characteristics and
could be followed up by specific questions about her
health, her relations with her husband, her workload
as appropriate. The basic idea is to understand the
perceptions and societal pressures which may be
related to the behaviour being studied.
Exploring basic aspirations and anxieties may be
useful for later developing communication activities.
Questions could ask about the worst or the best
scenarios: for example for fathers, what is their
main hope for their sons? for their daughters?,
what is the thing you fear the most for your fami-
ly? or more generally what is the most happy event
for a father?, what is the most important quality of
a wife?
guides should be the responsibility of the
methodology coordinator and one or two
other team members. Draft guides
which they prepare can be reviewed and
modified by the other team members.
While the guides for each of the types of
group to interview will be somewhat
different, in keeping with the specific
objectives for each, many of the ques-
tions will be similar.
Most questions should be open-ended,
that is, there are many possible replies
and the participants can reply at length.
Questions that can be answered yes or
no should be avoided.
Each question should be checked accor-
ding to the following criteria:
clearly worded and easily understood
by the participants;
neutral so that the formulation does
not influence the answer;
formulated in the positive rather
than the negative.
The questions should be carefully se-
quenced with easier, more general
questions preceding the more difficult
ones, and the less intimate ones coming
before those which ask for more per-
sonal answers. In the example given in
Box 2.19, the first question is very gene-
ral, introducing the subject of children in
a positive way while still eliciting useful
information about how participants
perceive children.

26
Interviews should be conducted in the language in which participants are most comfortable. This may
mean that more than one local language is used in the study. The study team should include persons
who are fluent in the various languages in which interviews will be conducted. Care must be taken
to ensure that each language version is the same. This can be done by having translations translated
back to the original by a second translator.

Pre-testing
In qualitative research, the pre-testing of the data collection instruments is a much less formal activity
than in survey research. This is because the questions are only a guide for the interviewer and they
can be modified during the data collection process. Prior to the training of the interviewers, it is
important that members of the study team individually and informally test the guide with one or more
persons who approximately fit the criteria of the types of group to be interviewed. Changes in the
draft guide can be made before training begins. The timetable should allow sufficient time for this
pre-testing process.

Box 2.19: Example of question guide on family planning

Discussion guide: Women 2035 years, married with children
1. What is the value of children to people you
know?
2. Do families have a preference for either girls
or boys? IF YES, Why does this preference
exist?
3. When people talk about having many and
about having few children, what do they
mean by many? by few?
4. What are the advantages of having few chil-
dren? What are the disadvantages?
What are the advantages of having many
children? What are the disadvantages of a
large family?
5. Do men prefer to have many or few chil-
dren? Why?
6. Is there any number of children that women
wish to have? How many?
Is it the same for women in monogamous
and polygamous marriages?
7. Does your religion encourage people to have
many or few children?
8. How can you explain the case of a woman
who has been married for 6 years, who is
living with her husband and who has no chil-
dren?
9. What is the usual period of time between
births? x MONTHS
10. BASED UPON THE RESPONSE TO
QUESTION NO. 9, Do you think that x
months is an appropriate space between two
births?
IF THE RESPONSE IS YES, Why do you
think that x months is a good space between
two births?
IF THE RESPONSE IS ANOTHER
INTERVAL, Why do you say that y months
is appropriate between births?
11. What do you think about a woman who after
giving birth waits for 6 years to have another
child? Is that a good idea? WHY OR WHY
NOT?
Could a space of 6 years between births
cause any problems for the woman?
12. There is a woman who married when she was
18 years old and when she was 24 years old
she already had 3 children. Can that be a
problem for her?
13. There is a woman who is 40 years old and
she continues to give birth. Can that have an
effect on her or on her childrens health?
14. Are there traditional practices which allow
women to space the births of their children?
15. Have you heard of family planning?
IF YES, Where did you hear about it? What
have you heard about it?
16. What family planning methods have you
heard about?
What have you heard about each method?
PROBE FOR ADVANTAGES AND DI-
SADVANTAGES
17. Does your religion say something about the
use of modern contraceptives?
18. Who decides whether to try to space births:
the woman, the husband, other members of
the family?
19. How are traditional methods different from
modern methods?
20. Do parents educate their children about sex
before marriage?
Who does it? What does it consist of?

27
Implementing the study 3

Step 10
Select and train facilitators

In group interview research, the factor which most determines the quality of the data collected is the
skill of the group facilitator. The facilitator must be carefully selected, well-trained, well-supervised
and have a high degree of self-motivation, curiosity and creativity. Even before selecting facilitators,
it is important to be aware of the key skills required like establishing link with interviewees,
questioning skills and analytical skills.

Establishing link with interviewees

If an interviewee feels comfortable with the facilitator, he/she will be much more like to spontaneously
share ideas, opinions, feelings etc. Conversely, the interviewee who feels uncomfortable with the
interviewer, may provide only cursory answers in order to satisfy the interviewer and to ensure that
the interview finishes as quickly as possible.

Establishing link with inter-

viewees requires that the
interviewer knows how to:
listen attentively;
demonstrate interest in
what each interviewee
says both verbally and
non-verbally;
anticipate and encourage
more timid respondents
to share their ideas;
show respect for inter-
viewees ideas, know-
ledge, opinions etc.

29
Questioning skills
The primary tool of the facilitator for gathering information from interviewees is the question. It has
been said that using a good questioning strategy is an art. Specific suggestions can be given to the
facilitators on how to use the different types of question but effectively using them requires a certain
predisposition, considerable perseverance and creativity on the interviewers part.

Analytical skills
Interviewing requires the ability to break down complex ideas and concepts expressed by the
interviewees, to identify patterns, to develop assumptions about the meaning and the relationships
between those elements. During the interviewing process, the facilitator must actively listen and at
the same time analyse what is being said in order to develop and refine questioning strategies based
upon that ongoing analysis. During the analysis of the data, similar imaginative intellectual
manipulation of the information collected during the interview is required both on the part of the
facilitator and note-taker(s).
The range of interviewer skills required to conduct quality interviews suggests that conducting such
interviews is not as easy as is often believed. Qualitative data collection is a fascinating but
demanding process. Those planning to undertake studies using in-depth group interviews need to be
realistic about what is required to assure that the interviewers are carefully chosen and well-prepared
for the task.
Where programme staff are to be involved in data collection, there may be less scope for selection
and thus training assumes critical importance. In many other guides to the use of focus groups,
minimal attention is given to the training of group facilitators, because it seems to be assumed that
expert interviewers will be hired, from outside the programme, who do not need to be trained. In
practice, programme staff are often used as group facilitators, but their training is frequently
inadequate. Here the training of the interviewers is discussed in considerable detail.

Selection of facilitators
The group facilitators must be carefully chosen. As mentioned above, not everyone has the potential
to be a good interviewer and training is usually short.

Where groups of men and of

women will be interviewed, it
is beneficial to have both
male and female interview-
ers. Womens ability to com-
municate spontaneously with
male interviewers who are
strangers to them varies from
country to country. Howe-
ver, experience in many
countries has shown that it is
often easier for a female
interviewer to establish link
and to get women to express
themselves than it would be
for a male interviewer.
While men are often not as
sensitive to the gender of the
interviewer, if possible, it is preferable
Box 3.1: Qualifications of facilitators
knowledgeable about the topic but need not be experts;
fluent in the local language spoken by the interviewees and in
which the discussions should be conducted;
have at least secondary schooling although it is difficult to
make a strict recommendation regarding the minimum level of
education required;
capable of establishing rapport with others;
good listeners. The criteria for choosing facilitators should be
their ability to listen attentively and not for their ability to
speak articulately. People who tend to lecture others or who
are directive in their relations with persons who are less
educated or of lower social status, should not be selected;
respectful of others opinions.
to have male interviewers facilitate the men's groups.

30
Basic principles for facilitator training
The training for group facilitators should address the attitudes, knowledge and skills necessary both
to conduct group interviews and to analyse qualitative data (see Box 3.2). The main areas which
should be included in the training are:

the relationship between the research and the programme;

the rationale for qualitative data collection;
the objectives of the study,
organization and facilitation of the group interviews;
practical exercises using the interview guide, facilitating group discussions;
note-taking, coding and data analysis;
logistical aspects of the field work.

Conducting group interviews is considerably more difficult than conducting survey interviews and
hence the required training is more extensive. All study team members should be trained in both
interviewing and note-taking, and introduced to the basic approach to data analysis. During the field
work, the methodology coordinators will be responsible for further developing skills in interviewing
and data analysis.

Box 3.2: Training objectives which address interviewers attitudes,

knowledge and skills

Attitudes respect for group participants ideas, cultural values, traditional

ideas, etc.;
understanding the horizontal relationship between researcher
and interviewees;
commitment to learn from group participants rather than to
teach.
Knowledge how the study results will be used in the programme;
technical information related to the topic;
data collection objectives;
principles of group dynamics;
qualitative data analysis techniques;
practical arrangements for organizing interviews.
Skills in-depth questioning strategies;
sensitivity to non-verbal communication;
active listening;
note-taking;
use of tape-recorder;
data analysis.

Setting training objectives: Based upon the identification of the attitudes, knowledge and skills which
group facilitators need in order to participate in group interview studies, specific objectives for the
interviewer training can be formulated. An example of a set of specific objectives for a study on
family planning are included in Box 3.3.

Training methodology: The interviewer training should be carried out using an active-learning
methodology. The classic approach to training which consists of lectures followed by discussion will
not be adequate. Training should be based on a series of large and small group exercises which build

31
upon the experience of the participants and in which they are actively involved in analysing,
developing and practising different aspects of the group interview methodology. An important
element of the training involves having the participants practise facilitating group interviews with real
people from the target groups, either in the training room or, if possible, in the community.

Planning and conducting the training: Experience with numerous studies has shown that a minimum
of 5 days of intensive training are required if programme staff are to be expected to conduct
reasonably good group interviews. The methodology coordinator(s) should work with one or more
of the study team members, to develop the training plan. The planning and facilitation of the training
may require the involvement of one or more trainers who are experienced in using active-learning
methods. A minimum of two weeks should be allotted for the development of the training content
and methods.

Box 3.3: Interviewer training objectives for a study on family planning

Strategy of family welfare education project

to understand the objectives and components of the family welfare education
project;
to know the relationship between the qualitative community study and the family
welfare education project.
Objectives and organization of the community study on family planning
to discuss the relationship between socio-cultural factors and the family planning-
related beliefs and practices of a community;
identify the differences in the perception of family health-related situations on the
part of the community and on the part of family welfare animators;
to know the difference between quantitative and qualitative studies;
to identify the advantages and disadvantages of the group discussion as a tool for
collecting information from the community;
to know the specific objectives of the community study;
to know the steps in the organization of a community study using group interviews;
to understand the criteria for the choice of the types of persons to interview and of
the data collection sites.
Different aspects of the preparation and facilitation of a group interview
to discuss the components of the family planning problem map;
to understand the use of the group interview guide;
to be able to take notes during a group discussion following the defined principles;
to define the role of the facilitator and rapporteur during the group interview;
to identify the verbal and non-verbal behaviour patterns which either block or
facilitate communication in the group;
to identify the group dynamics problems which can present themselves and ways to
deal with them;
to describe the 5 different types of questions which can be used in the group
interviews and formulate examples of each type;
to practice facilitating a group interview;
to code and help analyse data collected in a group discussion.
Practical aspects of the organization of the study in the field during the data collection
to discuss the calendar for the data collection at each of the sites;
to know the roles of the study team members at each of the study sites.

32
Training content
Attitudinal component
Individuals involved in development programmes who have considerable formal education often
believe that their knowledge and experience is inherently superior to that of persons who do not have
as much formal training. Also, development workers often perceive their responsibility as one of
teaching or advising others. Such attitudes can constitute serious obstacles to effective qualitative
data collection.

Group facilitators must understand that their role in the group interview is to listen and not to teach,
to respect and not to criticize. For those who have considerable experience with conducting research,
the importance of maintaining neutrality and only listening is easily understood. However, experience
in training programme staff to conduct group interviews in many countries has revealed that these
concepts are often accepted with great difficulty and need to be addressed directly during training.

Changing attitudes through

training is an extremely difficult
task. It can only occur if parti-
cipants are involved in experien-
tial training exercises where they
can assess their own attitudes,
identify the relationship between
those attitudes and their beha-
viour, and the obstacles to com-
munication which those beha-
viours can represent. Activities,
including role plays and case stu-
dies, which illustrate both nega-
tive and positive attitudes and
behaviour on the part of group
facilitators can be used to help
participants analyse alternative
ways of viewing and interacting
with interviewees.
Box 3.4: Role plays for interviewer training
One role play could be presented which shows an interviewer
who is not attentive to the contributions of group members,
who criticizes and laughs at what they say, and who non-
verbally shows his/her disinterest and disagreement with the
group discussion. After watching the role play, trainees could
analyse the performance, identify weaknesses in the inter-
viewers approach and make suggestions for improvements.
A second role play could show an interviewer who non-
verbally as well as verbally shows his/her undivided interest in
interviewee responses. He/she encourages all of the group
members to participate, asks good follow-up questions to get
interviewees to give detailed answers, and accepts all respon-
ses with the same openness and enthusiasm. As with the first
role play, after trainees have observed it they can critique the
interviewers performance, identifying the positive behaviour
observed.

Knowledge and skill component

Training topics related to the knowledge and particularly to the skills needed by facilitators are:
specific study objectives; questioning strategies; non-verbal behaviour; and conducting a group
session.

Specifc study objectives

Group facilitators must have a thorough understanding of the study objectives for each type of group
to be interviewed. During training each objective should be discussed in detail so that the underlying
technical issues encompassed in each are clearly understood. It has proved to be useful for the inter-
viewers to learn the objectives by heart during the training session. If this is done, the facilitator will
not need to refer to them during the group interviews and the discussion guide will serve merely as
a reminder of the points on which he/she must elicit discussion.

33
Questioning strategies
In interviewing, the primary tool for collecting information is the question. Group facilitators must
recognize that there are different kinds of questions, that different types of questions elicit different
types of responses and that certain questions are more appropriate for in-depth interviewing than
others. While the main questions of the study have already been formulated in the guide, facilitators
will need to ask additional questions to facilitate the discussion.

During the training session, distinctions should be made between the different types of questions
described in Box 3.6 along with examples of each. Group facilitators must particularly master the use
of open-ended questions, probing questions and follow-up questions. Written exercises can be given
to participants in which they are asked to practise formulating different types of questions. With
groups that are not thoroughly familiar with different types of questioning strategies, such written
exercises have been found to be necessary before they begin to actually practise using them. Lastly,
simulation exercises can be used in which triads of participants (1 interviewer, 1 interviewee and 1
observer) practise using appropriate questioning strategies.

Non-verbal behaviour
Sensitivity to non-verbal behaviour is an important facet of group interviewing and relates both to the
relationship between the facilitator and the group participants and the observation of results.

Group facilitators should be aware of the different types of non-verbal behaviour and how they either
encourage or discourage communication. Non-verbal behaviour includes mainly gestures, head and
body movements, and facial expressions.

During training, role plays

Box 3.5: Body language
Encourages communication
looking directly at partici-
pants and showing interest in
what they are saying;
leaning toward a participant
who is talking;
head-nodding in a manner
which shows attentiveness to
what a participant is saying.
Discourages communication
facial expressions of disap-
proval such as frowning;
rolling ones eyes while a
participant is speaking;
doodling with a pencil which
may imply lack of attention
to the speaker.
of both appropriate and
inappropriate non-verbal
interviewer behaviour can
be observed and criticized
by participants.
During practice interview-
ing sessions, the partici-
pants can observe each
others non-verbal beha-
viour and give each other
feedback.

Conducting a group session

Apart from the questioning strategies and non-verbal behaviour, Box 3.7 provides some further
suggestions for facilitating discussions and avoiding problems.

But it is impossible to avoid all problems. Some of the common problems related to group dynamics
are summarized in Box 3.8 along with suggestions on how to either avoid or overcome them.

Hopefully the facilitator who is aware of the types of problems that can arise will be able to avoid
many of them by carefully orienting the group at the outset. However, when group dynamics
problems do arise, the facilitator must observe first, and if the problem continues he/she must
intervene. In most cases, the problem will continue if the facilitator does nothing.

34
Box 3.6: Types of questions

Closed questions elicit a short response, often yes or no, and should be used rarely. Usually they do not
require the interviewee to reflect in detail on the question asked.
Examples of closed questions:
How many children do you wish to have?
Have you heard about family planning?

Leading questions are those which suggest the interviewers opinion or the answer which he/she hopes
to receive. Facilitators need to learn how to recognize them in order to avoid them.
Examples of leading questions:
Dont you think that it is important to discipline your children?
You dont have sexual relations with more than one man do you?

Open-ended questions elicit more detailed, complicated responses from interviewees. This type of
question should be extensively used by group facilitators so that participants are stimulated to give
extensive replies.
Examples of open-ended questions:
What is your opinion of married couples who use family planning?
What do men think about using condoms?
Why do some people not belong to a trade union?
What are the advantages of sending girls to school?

Probing questions are used to elicit additional information related to a previous response.
They are usually open-ended questions of the style:
What do you mean by that? Can you explain further?
Im not sure I understand what you mean by ? What else did you think?
Facilitators must listen attentively and use probing questions to obtain additional information from
interviewees beyond their initial superficial responses.
Examples of previous responses and the follow-up probing questions:
Previous response Probing question
Union leaders are arrogant. What makes you say that?
With a large family things are too complicated. What things are too complicated?
Parents who send their girls to school
after age 12 live to regret it. Why do they live to regret it?

Follow-up questions are similar to probing questions in that they seek to elicit additional information
relative to something which has just been said. However, they are directed at others in the group
rather than at the person who has just responded. Follow-up questions are particularly important for
eliciting the opinions of others in the group and for drawing out contrasting opinions.
Examples of follow-up questions:
What do others think of what he has just said?
Mrs. Ama, you wanted to say something concerning the AIDS situation in your neighbourhood?
Do some of you have different ideas about why men are not willing to use condoms?

35
 During the training,
Box 3.7: Tips for facilitating group discussion participants need to
acquire a clear under-
Wear simple clothing so that people do not feel that there is a great standing of the roles
distance between them and the facilitator. they will assume at
Try not to interrupt the participants. each of the interview
Never respond to a participant with astonishment, impatience or
sites before, during
criticism. Participants should not know the facilitators opinions as this
might influence what they say. and immediately after
the group interviews.
If asked your opinion, say something like I, of course have my
opinions, but it is yours that we are interested in today. If really Detailed suggestions
pushed you could offer to discuss your opinions after the session. concerning the orga-
Show interest by using expressions like I see, Uh huh or Thats nization of the field
interesting. work are given in Step
Do not accept one persons opinion as the opinion of the whole group. 11; these aspects
Elicit the opinion of other participants. should be covered
Encourage shy participants to express themselves. Eye contact can be during training. At
useful in this regard. each site, one of the
Do not discourage the participants from discussing amongst themselves team members will
if they are talking about the question asked. facilitate the group
Diplomatically discourage more than one person from talking at the discussion while one
same time. or two other rappor-
Dont be afraid to allow silences. The person who was speaking teurs will observe and
may continue or another person may decide to talk. take notes; the next
Follow the discussion guide and decide how much time to allot to each section discusses trai-
question in order to finish in 1 hours. ning for note-taking.

Box 3.8: Typical problems of group dynamics and what to do about them

Problem
Everyone in the group says they agree with
the dominant group member.
Group members are not concentrating on
the discussion due to onlookers, noise or
other types of distraction.
Discussion is dominated by a few partici-
pants. Other group members do not parti-
cipate at all.
One or more participants discuss something
which is not related to the topic.
Several group members talk at the same
time.
Strategy
At the beginning and during the interview the facilitator
must explain to group participants that he/she is interested
in the different opinions in the group.
Session should be held in an enclosed place and someone
should be assigned to send away the onlookers. If the
distraction continues, the facilitator should interrupt the
discussion and ask one of the other team members to
solve the problem.
Before the interview starts and during the discussion the
interviewer must insist that he/she wants to know what all
members of the group think. The interviewer should
tactfully ask participants who dominate the discussion to
give the others a chance to speak. Shy group members
should be encouraged but not forced to participate.
The facilitator must tactfully intervene after a few minutes
to reorient the discussion back to the designated topic.
At the beginning of the session and while the interview is
going on, if necessary, the facilitator must explain that
he/she is interested in each of their ideas and that only
one person should speak at a time.

36
Principles of note-taking
Whether or not a tape-recorder is used to
record the group interviews, notes on the
group discussions should be taken in as
detailed a fashion as possible. The note-
takers should see themselves as human
tape-recorders. The notes should reflect
exactly what the participants say verbatim;
they should not filter or paraphrase. The
person taking notes will often be obliged
to shorten what has been said but in so
doing should record the exact words used
by the interviewee.
It has been found to be very difficult to
record systematically the particular person
who is speaking or to recognize them all
on the tape. Immediately after the inter-
view, the team will likely remember cer-
tain specific interventions by particular
people for example the very religious
woman who was adamantly against any
use of contraception. Since the analysis is,
in any case, at the group rather than the
individual level, it is advised not to try to
identify the person making each interven-
tion.
Box 3.9: Basic principles of note-taking
Notes should be in the first person. An interviewee
might say, I would never authorize my unmarried
daughter to take the pill. The notes should be
written in the first person singular as heard. The
rapporteur should not write She will not authorize
her daughter to take the pill.
Key words and ideas should be recorded in a sort of
shorthand, when it is not possible to write the entire
interviewee statement. A group participant might
say, men used to prefer to have lots of children
because. of all the work there was to do, but now
they prefer having only a few children because they
cant manage to take care of them all. The rap-
porteur might record the following key words, men
used to prefer lots children work to do, now prefer
few cant manage them all.
Original, descriptive phrases or sayings should be
recorded word for word. In a group interview a
female participant said: work really wears us out.
If you are carrying one child on your back and
another in your belly you are even more worn out.
The rapporteur copied these two sentences word
for word.
Notes should be phrased exactly as spoken. An
interviewee might say, Islam says that you should
give birth to everything which you have in your
belly. The note-taker should record the speakers
words and not write, for example, Islam teaches us
to have as many children as you have inside of
you.
Information should not be filtered. Sometimes
inexperienced data collectors do not write down
ideas expressed by the participants which by their
own criteria are not true. An interviewee might
say, for example, the IUD can give you cancer.
All responses are important and should be recorded
as heard.
As many notes should be taken as possible. Even if
the ideas being expressed in the group seem repeti-
tive, even if the rapporteurs hand aches, he/she
should take as many notes as possible. Only later
might a decision be made that certain information
is not relevant or possible to analyse.
Record the different opinions in the group. An
objective of the group interview is to uncover within
the group the different opinions which exist on the
same issue. The variety of opinions expressed
should be recorded.
37
During the training session, the principles of note-taking should be discussed and the interviewers
should be given written exercises in order to practise note-taking before the field visits. Good note-
taking requires considerable practice to become proficient at it.

Practising note-taking may be particularly important when the interview takes place in a local
language which rapporteurs may not be accustomed to writing. Notes should, whenever feasible, be
taken in the language of the discussion to avoid any deformations which might be caused by
translation and to capture the local nuances. For note-taking, it has been found to be practical to
use pieces of plain paper with a large margin (approx 6 cm) drawn on the right hand side. In this
way, during the interview, notes can be written to the left of the margin. As soon as possible after
the interview is completed, and in all cases that same day, the note-taker should review his/her notes.
The right margin leaves space for adding information which was not recorded during the interview
but which the note-taker still remembers or hears on the tape.

Step 11
Conduct group interviews
Once the interviewer training is completed, the field work phase of the study can begin. In fact, it
is important that the training of the interviewers be conducted immediately before the data collection
phase so that the interviewers do not forget the skills they have learned in the training.

It may be useful to have a check list of materials that the team should have for each interview. This
would include:
the interview guide for each type of group;
sufficient paper for writing observations;
tape-recorder, batteries, cassettes, if used;
2 sets of coloured pens for coding.

The interviewing schedule

There are two critical considerations in planning the schedule of
group interviews:
data collected in each interview must be analysed before the next
interview is conducted; and
between 3 and 6 hours is required to analyse the data collected in
one group interview.
The analysis of the data from one interview should be done the same
day as the interview or, in the case where the interviews are conduc-
ted in the afternoon, the analysis could be done first thing the next
morning. From a methodological perspective, it is better to conduct
the interviews in the morning in order to be able to complete the
data analysis by the end of the same day. However, for some
interviewees, the morning may not be a convenient time for them to
meet. This may be especially true for women who often are particu-
larly busy in the morning. The time of day at which the interviews
will be held should be decided in discussion with persons who are
very familiar with the daily schedule of the target group members
and/or through discussion with target group members themselves.

38
 Box 3.10: Scheduling factors
travel to the interview site;
greeting organizational or community leaders;
gathering together or waiting for the interviewees to arrive;
conducting the group interview;
travel to the next lodging site;
meals;
rest time;
debriefing and data analysis.

Steps in the interviewing process

Before the team arrives
Certain initial arrangements related to the interview site contribute significantly to the success of a
group discussion.

Choosing the spot

The group discussion should be held in a quiet place so that participants will not be distracted during
the discussion. Places should be avoided where children, animals, cars or onlookers will be
continuously passing by or where other sorts of noise will distract participants. A closed place is
preferable, such as a courtyard, living room or meeting room. In addition, the spot chosen should
be a neutral place where people feel as free as possible to express themselves. For example, a group
of workers would not feel as comfortable to express themselves in the directors office as they would
in the employees recreation room. At the community level, a group of women might be inhibited
to freely express themselves if they meet in the village chiefs house or at the health centre. These
are not neutral places. The logistics coordinator should have already arranged for an appropriate
spot before the team arrives.

Sitting in a circle
The participants and the
interviewer must be seated
in a circle in order to be
able to see each other and
be able to listen and speak
with one another. The ob-
server(s) would sit outside
the circle, behind the facili-
tator. It is important to re-
member that in a group
interview there should be
communication n o t o n l y
between the interviewer and
the participants but also
among the participants.

Sometimes a team will arrive at a site and find that chairs are arranged in rows, for example. With
this arrangement certain participants will be looking at the back of the head of others. Team
members must take the initiative to correct such situations before the interview starts.

39
Sitting at the participants level
Another important principle of interpersonal communication is that it is important to be at the same
level as those with whom you are communicating. Concretely this means that the facilitator should
be sitting at the same level as the interviewees. If there is a bench for them to sit on, the facilitator
should also sit on a bench. If participants are sitting on a mat, the facilitator should do the same.
If special chairs have been arranged which would put the team members above the participants, it
should be tactfully explained that you prefer to sit with the participants at their level. It is also impor-
tant that any physical objects between the facilitator and group participants, such as tables, be
removed. These can constitute a barrier to communication.

Arrangements for childcare

Distracted participants will not be able to contri-
bute effectively to the group discussion. At the
community level, women who have young chil-
dren often bring them along to the interviews.
Women whose children wriggle, cry or need to
run around make it difficult for their mothers to
actively participate in the group conversation.
Such problems should be foreseen and appro-
priate arrangements made.

An ingenious solution to this problem, disco-

vered by the team during a study in the Came-
roon, is to ask the collaborators at the study site
to identify another woman or teen-age girl to
look after the small children on a mat not far
from where the interview is being conducted. If
there is a real crisis, the mother is close by, but
otherwise, she is able to focus her attention on
the discussion.

When participants arrive

It is necessary to greet them warmly and make them feel at home. At the same time, it is important
to ensure that the group composition is as required.

Verifying the characteristics of group participants

Team members must verify the characteristics of the individuals who show up for the interview. Even
though the criteria for group membership have been carefully communicated, often individuals will
show up who do not fit those criteria. If the group is to be composed of women from 1520 years
of age, a woman who is 35 years old should be told diplomatically that the team specifically wants to
talk with the younger women. Similarly, if men show up for an interview with women, someone must
tactfully explain the objective of the discussion and encourage them to leave. Assuring the
homogeneity of the groups is one of the important aspects of the methodology.

Limiting the number of participants

Frequently more than 10 persons will show up for an interview. For the success of the group
interview, the size of the group must be limited to a maximum of 10 persons. Once again, diplomacy
will be required to deal with additional participants. If once the interview has started additional
people arrive, one of the rapporteurs should tactfully ask them not to join the group. The problem
of late-comers can often be avoided if the discussion is carried on in an enclosed spot.

40
Introducing the interview
The introduction made by the facilitator will influence how participants feel about being in the group
and the extent to which they will or will not spontaneously share their ideas with the group. The
typical sequence is as follows:

Greet the participants

The approach used to
welcome the group
participants to the
interview should be
based u p o n l o c a l
cultural norms. As a
general rule, the faci-
litator and rapporteur
sh o u ld introduce
themselves and ask
each of the group
members to tell the
others their name.
This will allow the
facilitator to call on
the participants by
name, assures that the
participants, all know
each others names
and should help them
feel relaxed in the
group. At the same
time that the group members are introducing themselves, both the facilitator and note-takers should
write down the participants names in a circular fashion, corresponding to how they are seated.

Explain the purpose of the interview

The interviewees feelings about being in the group depend partly on how well they understand the
purpose of the interview, and how genuine they feel the interest is in their opinions and attitudes.
During the training session, it is important that the best way to describe the purpose of the interview
be decided. In any case, it should be an honest explanation related to the programmes interest in
better understanding the target group members perspectives. Stress the importance of their
contribution and explain the ground rules for the discussion (Box 3.11).

Reassure about anonymity of responses

It is important to explain to the group that the ideas and information which they share with the group
will be kept confidential and that the responses of individuals will not be specifically associated with
their names.

Explain the purpose of note-taking and recording

The purpose of the note-taking, and possibly tape-recording, should be carefully explained to the
group. They should be asked for their permission to record their answers.

41
 Box 3.11: Discussion rules
to be explained
the study team is interested in the ideas
of each of the participants;
they should take turns talking so that
each of them can give their opinion;
they should try not to speak at the same
time as another person;
the facilitator is interested in the diver-
sity of opinions that may exist within the
group.

Facilitating the group discussion

Questions based upon the discussion guide
The discussion guide orients the facilitator in questioning the participants. In many cases, the
facilitator should use probing questions to get additional information on individual responses or
follow-up questions to elicit additional information from others in the group. As mentioned, the guide
is a tool to be use with flexibility and to assure that answers relative to all the specific study objectives
are collected.

Interview length
Interviews should last about 1 to 1 hours. Depending upon the interest and energy level of the
group, they may last 2 hours but preferably the facilitator should plan to complete the discussion in
1 hours.

Note-taking
The rapporteur(s) should begin taking notes immediately after the facilitator has introduced the
discussion and until the end of the interview. As much as possible the facilitator should take notes
as well although it is recognized that it is difficult to listen to participants, develop questioning
strategies and also take notes. With practice it is increasingly possible. Notes should be written in
pen rather than pencil so that they can be more easily read by others later.

Box 3.12: Ending the interview

When the facilitator has finished asking all priority
questions, he/she should:
ask the rapporteur if there are additional questions
he/she would like to ask;
thank the participants for their collaboration and
for sharing their ideas with the study team.

Dont forget to thank any local persons who helped with

the organization of the interviews.

42
Immediately after the interview
Review notes of observers
As soon as possible after the interview is completed, it is important that the rapporteur(s) and
facilitator go over their notes to identify and complete any obvious missing elements. Note-takers
should not spend time copying over the notes unless they are totally illegible. This is not a very good
use of time which can be better used during the subsequent data analysis sessions.

Mini feedback session

It is useful for the study team to take 1520 minutes after each interview to discuss the dynamics of
the group session, to identify constraints and to formulate lessons learned to be applied in the
subsequent interviews. Analysis of the content of the interview will come in Step 12. Each day the
methodology coordinator should record the lessons learned as discussed in the feedback session and
refer back to them the following day.

Box 3.13: Questions for feedback session

What are your observations regarding the participation of the group members during the interview?
What non-verbal behaviour did you observe which suggested that the participants were either interested
and involved or the contrary? Were there problems in terms of group participation? What can be
done to improve the participation of the interviewees in the future?
How was the facilitation during the interview ? What did the facilitator do to encourage participation?
Were there weaknesses? How can the facilitation be improved in the future?
Were there disturbances outside the group which distracted the participants? How can these be
avoided in the future?
Were there any major problems in the group, for example, discussion completely dominated by one or
two persons so that the interview was unsatisfactory and not worth analysing?

43
Analysing and reporting the results 4

Step 12
Analyse the data
The analysis process can be very long and complicated particularly if discussions are transcribed from
the tape by a typist and a detailed content analysis undertaken. For most projects, this is too costly
and long and probably not worth the additional effort. The author knows of one case where a study
had volumes of typed transcripts and didnt know what to do with them. While there is not only one
way to analyse qualitative data, a structured and simplified approach which has been successfully used
with teams of data collectors, composed mainly of programme staff, is suggested here.

The procedure proposed has the advantage of involving directly the interviewing team so that a first
analysis of each discussion is prepared by them immediately after the interview when it is fresh in
their memories. Qualitative data analysis requires careful examination of the often subtle aspects of
semantics, group dynamics, non-verbal communication etc. Those who attended the interview have
the best insights into what was said, how it was said and of how others in the group reacted.
Therefore, the accuracy of the data analysis is increased by the involvement of the data collectors in
this process.

From a staff development perspective, the process of data analysis provides an excellent learning
experience insofar as it provides insights into the thinking of target group members. Also the insights
from the analysis of one interview may suggest modifications which should be made in the content

45
of subsequent interviews. Although less rigorous than transcribing the tapes, this procedure should
be able to provide the insights and ideas necessary for developing an education/communication
strategy.

The technique of content analysis is the main tool for analysing qualitative data. In qualitative data
collection, predefined categories of responses do not exist. An inductive process is used to discover
the categories which emerge from the data itself.

It is the notes of the observers that are

Box 4.1: Why numerical analysis
is inappropriate
Some reports of group discussions give state-
ments such as 80 per cent of the participants
agreed that .... This is not appropriate in group
interview research since the sample is purposive
and not statistically representative of any parti-
cular population and since information has not
been collected systematically from each par-
ticipant.
The unit of analysis is the group. Therefore it
may be interesting to report, for example, the
extent to which group members agreed on certain
issues. For example, if in nearly all groups of
women there was internal disagreement on
whether traditional totems are effective for
preventing pregnancies, this in itself is interesting.
No percentage should be presented.
analysed. If interviews are taped, the ana-
lysis session should start by listening to the
tape, adding any elements missed to the
notes. If the discussion was only recorded in
manual notes, team members should review
the notes adding any omissions.
Once the notes are as complete as possible,
the content analysis technique involves first,
coding the information and secondly, in-
terpreting it in order to formulate conclu-
sions about the trends in the interviewees
responses.
The data analysis processes should be facili-
tated by someone with skills both in qualita-
tive data analysis and in the supervision of
team work. This is normally the method-
ology coordinator who was present at the
interview.

Coding the data

The first step in the data analysis process is to organize the data. Qualitative data are not neatly
compartmentalized as are quantitative data. Data collectors are sometimes overwhelmed with the
absence of order in the mass of data which they have collected. The coding process aims to organize
the data in relation to the specific objectives of the study.

It has been found useful to colour-code the data, using one colour for each category of specific study
objectives. Colour-coding will require the purchase of sets of different coloured pencils or fine
marking pens. Usually 10 or more colours are needed.

For example, in the sample set of specific study objectives given in Step 8, one category of objectives
is entitled family size, another reproductive decision-making and a third sterility. For the
purpose of colour-coding the notes, for example, yellow could be used for family size, red for
reproductive decision-making and blue for sterility.

The coding process involves systematically reading through the notes and underlining each piece of
information with the colour which corresponds to the relevant category of objectives. For example,
the notes might read, A big family is having too many mouths to feed. This sentence refers to
notions of family size and hence, should be underlined in yellow. The entire sentence should be
underlined. In some cases, the data will be related to more than one category of objectives and will
need to be underlined with more than one colour. For example, the notes may read, Its because

46
of God that many women have large families with eight or ten or even twelve children. This
statement relates to both family size and reproductive decision-making and hence should be
underlined in both yellow and red.

While from these examples the process may seem very straightforward, in fact colour-coding the notes
is not merely a mechanical process and some degree of judgement is involved. For this reason, the
process of colour-coding a set of notes should be done by the person who took those notes along with
a second team member. The coding process should be supervised by the methodology coordinator.

Interpreting the information

Once the data has been carefully coded, it can be discussed in relation to each of the study objectives.
This is a group process which the methodology coordinator facilitates. In other words, his/her role
is to encourage all the team members to share their ideas about the data presented, rather than to
impose his/her interpretation.

The process of data interpretation should proceed by dealing with one category of objectives at a time
(for example, the value of children in society or sterility). An example of a summary for a
particular objective is presented in Box 4.2. The suggested approach to data interpretation involves
several steps:

Read out all the underlined

Box 4.2: Example of conclusions information related to one
from one group interview category of objectives to the
research team. This will
Group: married men, 3045 years of age. give the group members a
general idea of the range of
Specific study objective: to know the value of children in the
society. information collected.
All the group participants agree that children are of primordial Identify the different opinions
importance in traditional African societies: if you have no
children, it is not worth living. The participants explanations
or dimensions which emerge
of the value of children can be grouped into two categories of related to the objective.
factors: economic; and non-economic. A majority of the men The methodology coordi-
in the group stated that male children are particularly valuable nator should encourage the
in economic terms. The participants identified several aspects team members to examine
of the economic value of children: in detail the statements
their contribution to the family workforce; made by the interviewees, to
their earning potential if they have completed school, if dissect the way in which
they are well educated they will take care of their parents ideas were expressed from a
later; linguistic perspective, and to
their responsibility for their elderly parents, children are uncover the relationships or
expected to take care of their parents when they are old contradictions which exist
just as their parents cared for them when they were between different pieces of
young. information.
The group participants identified several important facets of
childrens non-economic value: Formulate the conclusion in
they assure the continuity of the family name; as concise a fashion as possi-
they bring honour to the family; ble. The conclusion should
they provide support of all kinds to the family. indicate whether the attitu-
des or ideas expressed were

47
 shared by all interviewees, the majority, half, a minority or few of them. Particularly descriptive
quotations from group participants should be included. These can be chosen either because they
are typical or because they present innovative ideas or arguments which might be useful to the
programme. An example of how the conclusions related to one specific objective can be
formulated are found in Box 4.2.

Once the summary has been made concerning each objective, see if it is possible to identify
certain commonalities among the different topic areas. For example, for a mens group, an under-
lying concern for the economic help and labour inputs from children may be apparent in various
objectives. Or certain patterns of response may emerge such that those who are conservative
on one question are also conservative on other questions and thus a kind of typology can be
developed.

Consider whether any insights which emerged during the data analysis suggest additional issues or
aspects of issues which the team feels need to be further explored in the following interviews and,
if so, add them to the interview guidelines.

Step 13
Summarize findings
In Step 12, the methodology for analysing the data from each group interview was presented. Once
all the interviews for one type of group have been conducted, a summary of the findings for that type
of group should be prepared. When the data collection for all types of group has been completed,
a global summary of the findings related to each of the study objectives should be prepared.

Summaries for each type of group

The preparation of these
Box 43: Example of summary for one type of group summaries s h o u l d b e
coordinated by the me-
Type of group: young unmarried women 1520 years old thodology coordinator in
Specific study objective: to know perceived link between pregnancies collaboration with the
and the health of children and women facilitators and note-takers
In general, all the women interviewed in all three groups are aware of who participated in the
the relationship between pregnancies and the health of women and data collection. It is sug-
children. Concerning the interviewees notion of the ideal spacing gested that two full days
between pregnancies, the majority state that three years is the ideal be programmed for the
space while a minority believe that 2 years is appropriate. preparation of the summa-
The interviewees identify mainly advantages of birth spacing and ries on each type of inter-
problems with close pregnancies. Some of the advantages of birth viewee group. This task
spacing which are identified relate to the woman gives her time to should be carried out as
rest and allows her to regain her strength. Others relate to the soon after the completion
childs health, the child develops properly, the newborn is in good
health.
of the interviewing as
possible.
Regarding closely spaced births, the interviewees identify only
disadvantages for women and for children. Mothers are physically Summaries s h o u l d b e
worn out, she wont even be able to carry a bucket of water,
mothers are always sick. The womens previous child is malnouri- prepared, for example, on
shed, always weak and sick, not well taken care of, he wont have the data collected from
time to learn to walk before his mother gives birth again. young unmarried women
1520 years old, from

48
married women 2035 years old, etc. For each category of study objectives, the findings from all the
interviews with one type of group should be summarized. The trends in the knowledge and attitudes
of the groups should be reported. Quotations which are particularly descriptive of typical interviewee
ideas should be included in the summaries. These are a means of allowing the reader of the report
to listen directly to what target group members are saying without passing through the researchers
filter.

Global summary
The global summary is the synthesis of the findings from the different types of group relative to each
of the study objectives. This task should be done by the methodology coordinator in collaboration
with two or three of the other core study team members.

This task consists of reviewing

Box 4.4: Extract from global summary the findings objective by objec-
of family planning study tive from each type of group. In
writing the summary, the simi-
Objective: to identify the sources of information on modern larities and differences in attitu-
contraception des or knowledge, between the
different types of group, should
The study attempted to identify the target groups sources of be pointed out. An example of
information on modern contraception and specifically in terms part of a global summary of a
of their access to information through the mass media and family planning study is found in
interpersonal communication channels. In general, the 4 types Box 4.4.
of group all have limited knowledge of modern contraception.
Ilowever, all 4 groups have received some information through Given that the specific objectives
both the mass media and interpersonal channels. of the study are usually inter-
related, it may be useful to write
In all the provinces and for all types of group, the source of
an integrated conclusion. This
information the most frequently identified is interpersonal com-
munication. The interpersonal influences identified, in order would bring out some of the
of importance, are health workers, social welfare workers, main ways in which responses on
neighbours and friends, night-club friends, gossip, religious specific objectives show similar
leaders and teachers. Of secondary importance for the trends, for example, the rigid
interviewees in all the types of group are the mass media attitudes of older women or the
sources, namely, the radio, films and newspapers. general emphasis of men on
economic concerns.

Step 14
Working session with
stakeholders to formulate recommendations
In many studies, the researchers responsible for conducting the study are expected to formulate
programme recommendations based upon the research results. To ensure that such recommendations
are used, this approach is not the most effective. Often programme managers and other stakeholders
do not totally agree with the recommendations and/or do not assume responsibility for implementing
them. It has been found that when programme stakeholders have participated in developing
recommendations, they have a clearer idea of the study findings and of how they should be used as
well as a greater commitment to putting the recommendations into practice.

49
The approach suggested is therefore to hold a working session including the stakeholders, the
decision-makers and potential users of the study results so that they participate in developing the
recommendations.

In the working session, the study results can first be presented to the group and the content discussed.
A draft of the report should be available at this stage. Then, participants can be divided into small
groups and asked to formulate recommendations for future programme strategies. Their
recommendations will necessarily be based not only on the study findings but also on their
understanding of policy priorities, programme context, resource availability, etc. While not all the
programme stakeholders who participate in this session will have participated in the field work, the
recommendations which they formulate are part of the action research process and should be
included in the study report.

At such a wor-
king session, if Box 4.5: Example of results of workshop
quantitative data
has also been Theme: advantages of many children
collected on the
Summaries of group discussions Recommendations
same target
groups, it can All groups: Help with domestic work, Use perceived advantages of many
also be presen- labour, family tasks children as basis for educational ses-
ted in a summa- sions e.g. if objective is economic
ry fashion and All womens groups: Old age security, security or domestic help -get partici-
economic security (opinion not shared pants to reflect on conditions for
the relationship
by girls and rarely mentioned by men) reaching this objective and implica-
between the tions for family size.
quantitative and
qualitative fin- Mothers: Children are your wealth, Reinforce idea that the value we get
your happiness, your pride from children depends on a good
dings can be
upbringing
discussed.
Girls and men: Children preserve
An excerpt of your heritage, the family line (these
advantages often associated with a
the recommen- good upbringing and the material
dations develo- resources necessary)
ped in the wor-
Men and women: Underlying fear Inform parents on health care for
king session of a
expressed by parents of losing chil- ensuring survival of children and en-
project in Mada- dren who represent economic security courage preventive action, hygiene,
gascar (Ravao- and continuation of family line vaccination, nutrition.
zanany, 1992) is
shown in Box
4.5. For each
theme, a brief
summary of the results was juxtaposed with the resulting recommendations. All the recommendations
were subsequently synthesized to develop the main educational themes and how they would be
treated for each target group.

Step 15
Plan dissemination of results
A systematic plan for the diffusion of the study results should be developed if study organizers expect
that the research results will be widely read by people involved in related areas of policy making and
programme implementation.

50
Often, few copies of study reports are reproduced, and they are distributed to a small number of
programme directors of whom few have time to read the full report. The fact that such reports are
often carefully kept in locked cupboards can contribute further to limiting their availability to others
who are potentially interested in using the information. The end result is that relatively few people
have access to study findings.
Alternatives to the standard approach to presenting study results should be explored if the diffusion
and use of study results is considered a priority. The approach suggested in Step 14, involving
programme stakeholders in the process of formulating recommendations is one important step toward
increasing the probability that study results will be used.
Other creative and inexpensive strategies for diffusing study results from the central to the community
or enterprise level should be explored as well. A few suggestions of possible diffusion strategies
include:
Holding meetings in each of the concerned districts with relevant government and NGO workers
to discuss the study and its possible applications. This was done in the Madagascar case with
each district producing its own small monograph including the group discussion results as well as
a review of the local situation in the community. This proved to be an effective means for
involving those active in the community and obtaining their collaboration.
Preparing different versions for different readers; for example, the full study report (perhaps
100 pages) for a limited number of people, an abbreviated version (perhaps 10 pages) for
distribution to all programme staff who were in any way involved with the study and a fact
sheet of 2 pages for wide distribution to a variety of people who would be interested in the
major study findings and recommendations.
Having field workers involved in the study return to the communities or workplaces where data
was collected and discuss the findings and recommendations with target group members.

Step 16
Finalize report(s)
After the meeting with stakeholders, the study report should be finalized and distributed. From the
outset, responsibility for the completion of the report should be clearly assigned to one or more
members of the study team usually including the methodology coordinator. Sometimes study reports
are neither completed nor distributed. If the study was worth doing, it is important to put it into the
hands of those who can use the findings. A suggested outline for a comprehensive study report is
included in Box 4.6.

Box 4.6: Sample outline for the report of a group interview study
Executive summary III. Study findings for each set of study objectives
I. Purpose of the study A. The value of children
B. Traditional methods of family planning
II. Study methodology C. Knowledge of modern contraceptive
A. Study objectives methods
B. Data collection technique: the group inter- D. Decision-making related to reproduction
view E. Sterility
C. Sample of interviewees
D. Data collection instrument: the discussion IV. Programme recommendations based upon the
guide(s) study findings
E. Interviewers V. Evaluation of the study implementation pro-
F. Interviewer training cess: lessons learned

51
It is suggested that the report include a 12 page executive summary of the major study findings
and recommendations. While hopefully the whole report will be read by those who receive it, many
programme managers do not have the time. This summary is a device for providing those who cannot
read the entire report a quick overview which may entice them to read further. While the Executive
Summary should appear at the beginning of the report, it should be written last.

In instances where the study results will be used to develop IEC and training activities, the report will
be a key resource. The summaries prepared in Step 13 would be the basis for the section on study
findings. The recommendations will take into account the results of the meeting with stakeholders
(Step 14) while the evaluation section will be based on the evaluation exercise conducted with the
study team (Step 17).

Step 17
Evaluate implementation
A final and important step is for the study team to evaluate the study implementation process. The
objective of the evaluation exercise is to analyse the study implementation in order to identify the
strengths as well as the weaknesses in the process, and to formulate lessons for future use of the
group interview methodology.

The evaluation can be carried out using an informal but structured participatory methodology. All
the study team members should participate in the evaluation activity which will probably require a
working session of about half a day in length. The evaluation exercise is intended to produce
practical and specific recommendations for the planning and implementation of similar studies in the
future. Ideally, the evaluation exercise should be facilitated by someone who did not participate in
the study and who has strong non-directive, group facilitation skills.

Box 4.7: Worksheet for informally evaluating the implementation process

Study component: logistical and materials organization during the field work phase

Positive aspects Lessons learned

Good compliance with the interviewing and travel The importance of developing a detailed field visit
schedule. plan with regional collaborators which takes into
account local realities and constraints and of closely
following the plan.

Good collaboration with the regional administrative
authorities.
Problematic aspects
Inadequate lighting at regional lodging sites which
precluded evening work by the team.
Importance of communicating ahead of time with
regional authorities to assure their support for the
study.
Purchase oil lamps or arrange for lodging where
lighting is available so that evening work is not
impeded.

Considerable loss of time and energy associated Identify lodging spots ahead of time and require all
with looking for team lodging at the end of the day. team members to lodge at the same location.

A simple methodology has been successfully used for such evaluations. The first step is for the main
components and/or phases of the study to be identified. The list of major components might include:
the interviewer training; the logistical and materials organization during field work; the adminis-

52
trative support; the group interview methodology; the methodological supervision during the data
collection; and the report writing phase.

Once the list of key components is agreed upon, the informal evaluation exercise consists of
identifying:

the successful aspects;

the weak or problematic aspects; and
the lessons learned relative to each of those components.

It is important that lessons be formulated not only with regard to the problematic aspects of the study
implementation, but for the successful aspects as well. An evaluation worksheet, such as the one
found in Box 4.7, can be displayed on the wall and completed based upon the consensus of the study
group members. Examples from the evaluation of the logistical organization during the field work
phase component of a study are found in Box 4.7 (extracted from Aubel et al., 1990).

53
Activity calendar 5

Once the process of implementation is understood, a useful tool for planning the practical aspects of
the study is a Study activity calendar. Such a calendar can be developed by identifying all the
specific activities or tasks which must be carried out during the phases of: planning; field work; and
of finalizing the study results.

Related to each of the 17 steps in the development of the study methodology, the necessary activities
should be defined along with the approximate date (month and week) that each should be completed,
and the person responsible for completing or organizing each task.

An example of a Study activity calendar which can be used for planning purposes is presented here.
Some tasks can, of course, be done at the same time and the total time required will be highly
variable depending particularly on the number of groups interviewed and their geographic dispersion.
It is important to be realistic when making the calendar and to allow for the time necessary to plan
the study, the training and the field work carefully. An example of an activity bar chart for a study
is also given. It can be noted that the project in the example conducted the interviews as from week
9 with the first 8 weeks being devoted to preparation and training.

The calendar is useful for assigning specific responsibilities to particular team members in order to
ensure that the division of the labour is clear and that no one person has all the tasks. Step 3 on
constituting the team provides some indication of the specific responsibilities of the various types of
team members.

A global budget has often already been allocated for a study which must accordingly be designed to
work within this constraint. Many decisions affect costs and various scenarios may need to be
envisaged and costed before a final design with its budget can be decided.

Some of the costs which may need to be covered by the budget are:

salary of methodology coordinator/consultants;

per diems and travel for contacting local authorities, training interviewers and conducting
interviews;
honorariums for interviewers/observers;
any rent of facilities or equipment;
snacks for participants;
material supplies batteries if recording, tape-recorders, paper, felt pens;
typing, printing of final report.

55
 Activity calendar

Step Activities/Tasks Date Responsible

person(s)

1. Define the topic organize meeting with programme managers

2. Review existing literature
3. Constitute the study team
4. Identity information needs of
programme managers
5. Develop a topic map
6. Conduct social influence analysis
7. Choose sample of interviewees
8. Define specific study objectives
9. Develop group interview guide
10. Select and train group facilitators
11. Conduct group interviews
12. Analyse the data
13. Summarize findings
14. Discuss findings with stakeholders
and formulate recommendations
15. Plan diffusion of results
16. Prepare report(s)
17. Evaluate implementation
identify related literature
review literature and prepare short summary
select programme managers
select methodology coordinator(s)
select programme field staff
select logistics and materials coordinator
organize working session with programme
managers and study team members
construct draft topic map
study team meeting to discuss map and summary of
related literature (Step 2)
working session to identify target groups to
interview
define characteristics of groups to be interviewed
determine number of group interviews
complete Group Interview Schedule worksheet
complete group interview sites planning worksheet
working session to define study objectives
develop group interview guide
pre-test and revise interview guide
select interviewers
identify trainers
plan training session curriculum
prepare training materials
conduct training
develop field work calendar
make preliminary contact with organizational or
community leaders
invite target group members at each site to parti-
cipate in study
conduct group interviews
code and interpret data after each interview
prepare summaries for each type of group
prepare global summaries
working session with stakeholders and formulation
of recommendations
working session to develop strategy for diffusion of
study results
prepare study report(s)
copy and distribute reports
working session with study team members to
evaluate study implementation
prepare report of lessons learned

56
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Price: 15 Swiss francs