Interpretive focus groups: a participatory method for interpreting and extending secondary analysis of qualitative data

Redman-MacLaren, Michelle, Mills, Jane, and Tommbe, Rachael (2014) Interpretive focus groups: a participatory method for interpreting and extending secondary analysis of qualitative data. Global Health Action, 7. 25214. pp. 1-6.

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Abstract

Background: Participatory approaches to qualitative research practice constantly change in response to evolving research environments. Researchers are increasingly encouraged to undertake secondary analysis of qualitative data, despite epistemological and ethical challenges. Interpretive focus groups can be described as a more participative method for groups to analyse qualitative data.

Objective: To facilitate interpretive focus groups with women in Papua New Guinea to extend analysis of existing qualitative data and co-create new primary data. The purpose of this was to inform a transformational grounded theory and subsequent health promoting action.

Design: A two-step approach was used in a grounded theory study about how women experience male circumcision in Papua New Guinea. Participants analysed portions or 'chunks' of existing qualitative data in story circles and built upon this analysis by using the visual research method of storyboarding.

Results: New understandings of the data were evoked when women in interpretive focus groups analysed the data 'chunks'. Interpretive focus groups encouraged women to share their personal experiences about male circumcision. The visual method of storyboarding enabled women to draw pictures to represent their experiences. This provided an additional focus for whole-of-group discussions about the research topic.

Conclusions: Interpretive focus groups offer opportunity to enhance trustworthiness of findings when researchers undertake secondary analysis of qualitative data. The co-analysis of existing data and co-generation of new data between research participants and researchers informed an emergent transformational grounded theory and subsequent health promoting action.

Item ID: 34384
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1654-9880
Keywords: interpretive focus groups, secondary analysis, decolonizing methodologies, qualitative research, Papua New Guinea
Additional Information:

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.

Funders: National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC), James Cook University (JCU), Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation
Projects and Grants: NHMRC GNT1028200
Date Deposited: 21 Aug 2014 06:54
FoR Codes: 11 MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES > 1117 Public Health and Health Services > 111715 Pacific Peoples Health @ 100%
SEO Codes: 92 HEALTH > 9204 Public Health (excl. Specific Population Health) > 920499 Public Health (excl. Specific Population Health) not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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