Considerations for conducting online focus groups on sensitive topics

ABSTRACT

In response to concerns about the use of online focus groups, particularly around sensitive topics research, we provide two case examples of sensitive topics research that pivoted to online focus groups amid university ethics restrictions due to COVID-19 concerns. We begin by contextualizing the studies, one of which used the more traditional focus group method while the other employed a mix of focus groups and a variation on the World Café method, termed Community Cafés. We discuss issues like online platform choice (Microsoft Teams versus Zoom), security, and considerations for effective participant communication and connection. We demonstrate the effectiveness of online focus group data collection for sensitive research in two disciplines as well as the benefits to participants. We conclude by providing considerations and recommendations based on our own learnings for researchers wanting to conduct online focus group research on sensitive topics.

KEYWORDS:

• Online research
• virtual focus groups
• qualitative research methods
• sensitive topics research

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Olivia Barclay for her assistance with the focus group coordination process for Study 1. We also wish to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Canadian Psychological Association for their support of this research via funding awarded to Tanja Samardzic.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Study 1 was supported by both a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Doctoral Scholarship and Canadian Psychological Association Grant for Student Research and Knowledge Dissemination, both awarded to Tanja Samardzic.

Notes on contributors

Tanja Samardzic

Tanja Samardzic is a Ph.D. Candidate in Applied Social Psychology at the University of Guelph. Her research, which she approaches from a critical feminist lens, concerns the navigation of societal expectations about how (young) women “should” be in various contexts, particularly in their intimate relationships. A primary focus of her work is on women’s silencing as an expected practice for securing and maintaining intimate, heterosexual relationships.

Christine Wildman

Christine Wildman is a recent Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Guelph. Christine’s research is grounded in critical sociological, critical feminist and decolonial lenses and is guided by critical community-engaged scholarship, anti-oppressive methodologies, and indigenous research paradigms. The research explored 2SLGBTQ+ community and life during the COVID-19 pandemic in two medium and small population centres in Southern Ontario.

Paula C. Barata

Paula C. Barata, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Guelph. Her research is explicitly feminist, has largely focused on violence against women, and has always had an applied bend. She has examined various issues related to intimate partner violence and has also worked on the evaluation of a sexual assault resistance education program (Enhanced Access, Acknowledge, Act), and she continues to work on the wider implementation of that program. Currently, she is working on a community-engaged and arts-based project examining intimate partner violence survivors’ experiences with service provision during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mavis Morton

Mavis Morton, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Guelph. Mavis is a critical community-engaged scholar and critical feminist sociologist/criminologist who works with rural and urban community partners on issues related to violence against women and other social justice issues.