How do you ensure the reliability and validity of educational focus groups in your research? - Navigating Careers in Education with Purpose

Sample interview questions: How do you ensure the reliability and validity of educational focus groups in your research?

Sample answer:

Selecting Participants:
Purposeful selection: Choose participants who have specific knowledge, experiences, or perspectives relevant to the research question.
Homogenous focus groups: Create focus groups that are relatively homogenous in terms of relevant characteristics to ensure they share similar experiences and perspectives.
Conducting Focus Groups:
Trained moderator: Use a moderator skilled in facilitating focus group discussions and probing for rich insights.
Standardized protocol: Develop a standardized protocol that ensures consistency across focus groups and includes key questions, prompts, and follow-up inquiries.
Audio or video recording: Record focus group sessions to enable accurate transcription and analysis.
Data Analysis:
Thematic analysis: Analyze the transcripts using thematic analysis to identify recurring themes, patterns, and concepts that emerge from the discussions.
Coding: Use systematic coding techniques to organize and categorize the data, ensuring consistency and objectivity in the analysis.
Peer debriefing: Engage in peer debriefing sessions to discuss the analysis, identify potential biases, and ensure multiple perspectives are considered.