A System for Coding the Interaction in Focus Groups and Dyadic Interviews

Authors

David L. Morgan, Portland State UniversityFollow
Kim HoffmanFollow

Abstract

Interaction among participants is the fundamental mechanism that generates data in focus groups. Despite calls for ways to analyze interaction in focus groups, there is still an unmet need to develop such tools. We present a coding system to investigate interaction by emphasizing how participants use the substantive aspects of the topics they discuss. We then apply it to the question of how conversations in dyadic interviews (with two participants) compare to discussions in focus groups (with four or more participants). We find that dyadic interviews are more likely to contain explicit connections to the content of the previous speaker’s statement, and to generate more statements of agreement, indicating a higher degree of mutual attunement. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of our coding system in one particular context. We conclude by considering both the limitations of this system and the possibilities for extending it in future research.

Keywords

Focus Groups, Dyadic Interviews, Qualitative Data Analysis, Content Analysis, Interaction

Author Bio(s)

David L. Morgan, PhD, is a professor of sociology at Portland State University, where he specializes in qualitative research and mixed methods research. He is best known for his work on focus groups. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: morgand@pdx.edu.

Kim Hoffman, PhD, has more than 15 years of experience conducting rigorous academic research and program evaluation in diverse settings throughout the world. She is a Senior Research Associate with Oregon Health and Science University and also the Research and Program Evaluation Director of INCAAS (International Center for Advanced Research and Applied Science - www.incaas.com) based in Lima, Peru. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: kim@incaas.org.

Publication Date

3-3-2018

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2018.2733

Recommended APA Citation

Morgan, D. L., & Hoffman, K. (2018). A System for Coding the Interaction in Focus Groups and Dyadic Interviews. The Qualitative Report, 23(3), 519-531. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2018.2733