The transformation of qualitative research online: The case of focus groups

During the COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face academic research was suspended and replaced by online research according to the social distancing measures. Conducting online research has been underestimated in the past and at times chosen to facilitate either discussion between participants in geographically disperse locations (Han et al., 2019) or when focusing on individuals and groups who are members of online communities and engage frequently in online activities such as distant learning, gaming, social media groups (Steward & Shamdasani, 2017) etc. Although I acknowledge the limiting of potential participants to those who have and can reliably use the requisite technologies (Guest et al., 2013), most young people are competent and confident web users and as video conferencing software improves the opportunity to conduct online focus groups steadily increases (Rezabek, 2000). Focus groups are used to explore attitudes, perceptions, feelings, and ideas about a specific topic (Denscombe, 2010; Litoselliti, 2003) and seen as simulations of everyday discourses and conversations or as a quasi-naturalistic method for studying the generation of social representations or social knowledge in general (Lunt & Livingstone, 1996). In the COVID-19 context, conducting online focus groups fully replicate everyday conversations and social interactions and offer more opportunities for dynamic discussions, active engagement, and personal reflections while promoting participants’ emancipation and improving traditional focus groups (Braun et al., 2017). In this article, I discuss the beneficial transformation of online focus groups reflecting upon 20 online focus group discussions with young Europeans regarding their attitudes towards Brexit and Europe. List of References: Braun, V., Clarke, V., & Gray, D. (Eds.). (2017). Collecting Qualitative Data: A Practical Guide to Textual, Media and Virtual Techniques. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781107295094 Guest, G., Namey, E., & Mitchell, M. (2013). Collecting Qualitative Data: A Field Manual for Applied Research. London: Sage. Han, J., Torok, M., Gale, N., Wong, Q., Werner-Siedler, A., Hetrick, S. E., Christensen, H., (2019). Use of Web Conferencing Technology for Conducting Online Focus Groups Among Young People with Lived Experience of Suicidal Thoughts: Mixed Methods Research. JMIR Mental Health, 6 (10), 1-10. Litoselliti, L. (2003). Using Focus Groups in Research. London: Continuum. Lunt, P., & Livingstone, S. (1996). Rethinking the Focus Group in Media and Communications Research. Journal of Communication, 46, 79-98. Rezabek, R. (2000). Online Focus Groups: Electronic Discussions for Research. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 1 (1), Art 18. Steward, D. W., Shamdasani, P. (2017). Online Focus Groups. Journal of Advertising, 46 (1), 48-60.