Skip Navigation



Family Practice Advance Access published online on March 16, 2005
Family Practice, doi:10.1093/fampra/cmi003
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
22/3/335    most recent
cmi003v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Reventlow, S.
Right arrow Articles by Tulinius, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Reventlow, S.
Right arrow Articles by Tulinius, C.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author (2005). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
Received April 20, 2004
Accepted December 30, 2004

Article

The doctor as focus group moderator--shifting roles and negotiating positions in health research

S. Reventlow 1* and C. Tulinius 1

1 Research Unit of General Practice and Department of General Practice, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
S. Reventlow, E-mail: sr{at}gpract.ku.dk; s.reventlow@dadlnet.dk


  Abstract

Background. Any research is inextricably entwined with the researcher's positions adopted while collecting data. This represents an important challenge to focus group moderators whose positions within the group influence data collection. This situation is particularly important in health research where moderators are doctors.

Objectives. This study explores the moderator's social interaction with the group, in particular the moderator's position and how it affects data collection, the research process and knowledge production.

Methods. A qualitative study exploring group dynamics and the moderator's positions in focus group discussions, in particular the interaction between the moderator's position and her role as a doctor.

Results. The social construction and negotiation of the doctor's position depended both on the participants' view of the moderator and on the moderator's situational response. The moderator dealt with the participants' expectations and alternated between different positions: those she chose for herself and those chosen for her by the participants. Adoption of an active strategy outlining the moderator's position clarified the framework of data collection.

Conclusions. Doctors using focus groups as research tool to gain insight into people's ideas about illness must be conscious about how their medical background influences their positions during data collection. The focus group moderator must balance between letting participants discuss the topics without being disturbed and actively intervening in the discussion to clarify the process. The researcher has to set the boundaries and guidelines as to how the research is conducted.

Keywords: Focus groups; group processes; professional role; qualitative research; reflexivity; researcher's position; researcher-subject relations.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Palliat MedHome page
F Strasser, J Binswanger, T Cerny, and A Kesselring
Fighting a losing battle: eating-related distress of men with advanced cancer and their female partners. A mixed-methods study
Palliative Medicine, March 1, 2007; 21(2): 129 - 137.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Scand J Public HealthHome page
S. Reventlow and H. Bang
Brittle bones: Ageing or threat of disease Exploring women's cultural models of osteoporosis
Scand J Public Health, May 1, 2006; 34(3): 320 - 326.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.