Groups as Data Collection Method and Data Analysis Technique

Abstract

The use of focus groups for social work research has increased dramatically in recent years. The strengths of group process can be used in an innovative way—as a technique to improve rigor in qualitative data analysis. This article details the research process and the innovative data analysis approaches employed in a recent study conducted by the Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW). The use of interaction and group collaboration by researchers resulted in a stronger, more defensible product, emerging from a rigorous process of a multiperspective examination of decisions concerning the data, thus increasing researchers’ confidence in the final report on the project.

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References

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