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Reproductive Health Matters
An international journal on sexual and reproductive health and rights
Volume 2, 1994 - Issue 3: Contraceptive safety and effectiveness
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Original Articles

Obtaining sensitive information: The need for more than focus groups

Pages 75-82 | Published online: 01 May 1994

References

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  • The most famous recent use of this was in George Bush’s 1988 campaign. See: How a murderer and a rapist became the Bush campaign’s most valuable player, excerpt from: Simon, R, 1990. Road Show. Farrar, Straus and Girouz, New York.
  • NCl/HHS Pretesting in Health Communication. US Department of Health and Human Services, Publication 84-1493. 1984
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  • A MEDLINE search of journal articles published between 1989 and 1993 using the keyword ‘focus group discussion’ turned up 120 documents describing studies which used this method as the primary information-gathering method.
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  • In community settings, the focus group discussion is often held outdoors under a tree, or in a spot which is separate and discrete but not ‘private’. While other community members are discouraged from joining the group, those who participate are visible to outsiders and thus the perception of the discussion as ‘public’. This impression remains despite assurances that the data will be kept confidential. In this case, ‘public’ refers to the open knowledge of who participated in the group discussion and that other participants could reveal the information shared in the discussion in a way that might jeopardise the confidentiality of participants’ statements.
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