Doctors Zooming In: How to Run Focus Groups From Your Couch (and Maybe Your Pajamas)

Overview

Paper Summary › Explain Like I'm Five › Conflicts of Interest › Identified Limitations › Rating Explanation › Good to know › Topic Hierarchy › File Information ›

Paper Summary

Paperzilla title

This paper provides practical strategies for conducting remote focus groups using video conferencing platforms, particularly in the context of social distancing. The authors share their experiences and recommendations, addressing recruitment, session management, and technical aspects, based on their work with internal medicine residents. The paper highlights the need for careful planning, technical preparation, and participant engagement strategies in remote qualitative research.

Explain Like I'm Five

Scientists found that when people can't meet, they can still talk together on computers for important research. This paper helps grownups learn how to make these online group chats work really well.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

None identified

Identified Limitations

Limited generalizability

The article is limited in its scope, focusing solely on the experience of conducting remote focus groups with internal medicine residents at three academic medical centers. The findings might not be generalizable to other healthcare professional groups or research settings.

Insufficient exploration of the Hawthorne effect in remote settings

While the authors mention the potential impact of the Hawthorne effect, they do not address it thoroughly. The effect of being observed remotely (via video) on participant behavior is not well-explored, and the implications of multitasking/split attention during remote sessions require further investigation.

Limited discussion of data analysis

The study primarily focuses on the practical aspects of conducting remote focus groups and does not delve deeply into the methodological rigor of qualitative data analysis in the remote context. While the authors acknowledge the potential benefits of video recordings for analysis, they don't elaborate on the specific analytical techniques or challenges involved in handling such data.

Rating Explanation

This paper offers valuable practical guidance for conducting remote focus groups in healthcare research, addressing important considerations for recruitment, session management, and technical aspects. While the focus is specific to videoconferencing and internal medicine residents, the recommendations can be broadly applicable to other settings. The limitations regarding generalizability and in-depth methodological discussion prevent a 5-star rating.

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Topic Hierarchy

Domain: Social Sciences

Field: Social Sciences

Subfield: Education

File Information

Original Title: Zooming into Focus Groups: Strategies for Qualitative Research in the Era of Social Distancing

Uploaded: July 14, 2025 at 06:46 AM

Privacy: Public