Participant Recruitment
The focus group participants were drawn from a broader longitudinal research of aging persons in Gothenburg, Sweden, according to the article “‘I wanted to talk about it, but Icouldn’t,’ an H70 focus group study about feeling depression in early late life.” The participants were chosen from a sample of people who had responded to a prior survey and mentioned having depressive symptoms. The researchers chose participants from this pool who were aged between 70 and 76 and had obtained a positive screening result for depression (Rydberg Sterner et al., 2020).
Data Collection and Analysis Process
Specifically created for this study, a semi-structured interview guide was used to gather the focus group data. To learn more about the participants’ experiences with depression in later life, the directions contained open-ended questions. The researchers utilized a thematic analysis approach to examine the focus group data.
Potential Bias in the Research Process
To make sure that the sample is representative of the population of interest, individuals were chosen using a depression screening questionnaire. Regarding the sample’s representativeness, it’s crucial to remember that the study participants came from a broader longitudinal study of older individuals in Gothenburg, Sweden (Rydberg Sterner et al., 2020). Although this group may be relatively homogeneous, the authors point out that the sample had a wide range of gender, educational attainment, and living circumstances (Rydberg Sterner et al., 2020). Nevertheless, the results might not apply to different populations; thus, care should be taken when interpreting them.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Focus Groups
Focus groups have the benefit of allowing for a thorough examination of participants’ viewpoints and experiences. The group dynamics might help people come up with fresh concepts and insights. However, the use of focus groups does have certain drawbacks. For instance, when there is social pressure to adhere to the group’s opinions, the group dynamic might occasionally prevent people from communicating their genuine emotions or experiences. Moreover, the sample size is frequently limited, restricting how broadly the results can be applied.
Reference
Rydberg Sterner, T., Dahlin-Ivanoff, S., Gudmundsson, P., Wiktorsson, S., Hed, S., Falk, H., Skoog, I., & Waern, M. (2020). “I Wanted to Talk about it, but I couldn’t”, an H70 Focus Group Study about Experiencing Depression in Early Late Life. BMC Geriatrics, 20(1). Web.