Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
interviewerorafocusgroupmoderator.Forexample,inthecontextofafocus
group, people often express a feeling of being in a bubble. They know a
researcher is evaluating the group dynamics. But they also note that it's one
thing to see the two-way mirror in the research lab and know someone is
watching, and yet another not to see anything but have the feeling that you're
being watched in a study.
Another group dynamic challenge for a researcher managing an online
focus group is the fact that it's possible to recruit participants from a wide
range of cultural backgrounds. Understandably, most welcome the richness
that will come from the data. However, few will consider the fact that partici-
pants coming from different cultural perspectives may require more work in
facilitating a group dynamic. Once a group interacts well together, there can
be a greater emphasis on the point of view of the participants rather than the
researcher's perspective, limiting researcher bias. With that benefit, however,
comes the potential for the researcher to lose some control of the discussion,
creating management challenges. Another challenge for researchers is the
potential for participants in an interview or a focus group to respond or send
an additional response before receiving or reading a previous message. This
can complicate the management of discussion threads and can lead the dis-
cussionintoadifferentdirection.Itcanalsobeawkwardforparticipants,who
may not know how to re-enter a discussion that has shifted into two different
directions (Gaiser, 2000). These are issues that should be considered as your
research is being designed.
Operationalizing a research study refers to the concrete steps or operations
that will be used to measure specific concepts (Babbie, 2007). At this stage in
researchdesign,thechallengeistodeterminethebestwaysinwhichtoattacka
researchquestion.Theresearcherneedstodeterminewhathastobeilluminated
andinwhatwaystheresearchshouldbeconducted.Ultimately,operationalizing
aprojectshouldleadtoclarityregardingdatacollection.
Tips 'n Tricks
Guidelines
Think a study through from beginning to ending
•
Think through the research goals.
•
Choose a research method.
•
Analyze the methodological challenges and issues (legal requirements,
issues of privacy, etc.).
•
Determine an appropriate technology to meet your research needs.
•
Think through your implementation of the technology, including any
analysis needs.
•
Think through your implementation of the overall study.
