Data Collection: Method and Approach
The data for our study was collected by hosting focus group interviews, with a moderator. The interview questions were designed to collect specific qualitative data, via open ended questioning by the moderator. The interactivity of the focus group setting will encourage a deeper conversation, because of the pressure that is put on each participant to express and defend their opinion as they experience the voiced opinions of other members of the group. However, there is a risk in the focus group for one or two participants to dominate the conversation, and for others to sit quietly without actively engaging in the debate. As a result, the information can become skewed, or a single position can be voiced more dominantly than the others. The focus groups were structured to focus on two specific populations, those between 18 and 35, and those over 40. There were a total of six participants divided into the two groups according to their demographics. The participants were known to the moderator, because they were friends of the researchers. All participants are current students at MSU. Both the small sample size, and the familiarity of the participants could skew the data collected. The familiarity, while encouraging honesty and openness in the interview setting may also increase distraction and insert the presence of notable bias. Further, the original goal was to have 15 to 20 participants, or 8 to 10 per target demographic, our numbers are substantially below that. This means that significantly less data was collected, and the information known to the researchers is resultantly limited. A broader group of participants would have yielded more varied results.
