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Using focus groups in radiation therapy research: Ethical and practical considerations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2011

Caroline. A. Wright ,
Michal. E. Schneider-Kolsky ,
Brian Jolly  and
Marilyn. A. Baird
Caroline. A. Wright*
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
Michal. E. Schneider-Kolsky
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
Brian Jolly
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
Marilyn. A. Baird
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
*
Correspondence to: Caroline A. Wright, Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia. Tel: 0061 39952741. Fax: 0061 399058149. E-mail: caroline.wright@monash.edu.au
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Abstract

Focus groups are a means of gathering qualitative data from a group of participants who discuss a given topic. This method has been used in health care research for the past 30 years, but has seen limited use in radiation therapy research. Focus group discussions are a useful tool for investigating a variety of educational, training and clinical issues from the perspective of practitioners, students and patients. This paper reviews the issues associated with using focus groups as a means of data collection. In particular, it addresses some of the decisions which have to be made about group composition and conduct of the discussions. The literature review is contextualised using a recent example of how the authors used focus groups to investigate fitness to practise in radiation therapy. Other challenges such as familiarity between participants and researchers, power relationships and anonymity are addressed. The paper concludes with a consideration of data analysis.

Keywords

Focus groupsRadiation therapyQualitative researchFitness to practise
Type
Original Article
Information
Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice , Volume 11 , Issue 4 , December 2012 , pp. 217 - 228
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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