SHARING OUR EXPERIENCE OF CONDUCTING AN FGD ONLINE (VIA GOOGLE MEET)

Two weeks ago, we conducted, as part of training activities under @CREMES Research Mentorship Program, our first FGD role play online, and we wish to share our experience here, including the challenges that we faced and how we managed them.

The FGD was conducted among program mentees and was exploring “effects of alcohol consumption among youths aged 15-35 years”, a study they designed as part of the qualitative methods workshop. ?Six mentees participated as FGD participants and two led the discussions (one as a moderator and another as a note taker).

HOW WE RUN THE FGD

Participants were assigned numbers just like in the in-person FGD, which they used during the discussions instead of their names.

We tried to make mentees sign in again using assigned numbers instead of their names, but google meet could not allow this (seems it allocates names automatically based on emails information). Hence mentees’ names were displayed on the screen and when they wanted to speak they typed allocated numbers on the message box where the moderator could see it and pick them.

Further, Google meet did not have an option for raising a hand, hence, having participants type assigned numbers was the only way they could also indicate that they wanted to contribute to the discussions. This, however, did not pose any challenge as it worked quite well.

CHALLENGES WE FACED AND HOW WE TACKLED THEM

On the other hand, we faced several limitations/challenges during the discussions that we wish to share, including how we managed them:

1. One participant was almost inaudible (due to poor network).

?We addressed this by letting her type her views in the message box.

2. Another participant had unstable internet connection and kept getting in and out of the meeting.

?We addressed this challenge by prioritizing getting contribution from this participant whenever his internet was stable.

?3. To maximize internet connectivity, we switched cameras off, but this limited moderators’/note taker’s access to body language.

There was nothing we could do about this and instead the note taker was advised to focus on the tone of the voice to capture participants emotions.

?4. As already mentioned, our google meet did not have the hand raising functionality.

?We successfully used the system of participants typing their numbers whenever they had something to say and this worked fairly well.

?ADVANTAGES OF RUNNING AN FGD ONLINE

?There were a few advantages of running an FGD online:

?1. It was easy to mobilize participants for the FGD despite that they were in different locations. Two mentees were in different regions from the rest but could still attend the meeting.

?2. Since participants typed their numbers whenever they wanted to speak, it made it easier for the moderator to identify dominant and particularly the quiet participants, who were managed accordingly.

?CONCLUSION

1. Overall, the discussions went well, and we managed to collect sufficient details on our topic of interest.

2. An online FGD may be a good option for running an FGD among busy individuals or participants that are difficult to get into the same room.

3. On the other hand, since a good internet connectivity is a pre-requisite for an effective FGD, an online FGD may not be a viable option for situations where internet connectivity is unstable.

4. Using a meeting App with a hand raising functionality may serve participants better, however, the moderator should spent the first few minutes to orient them on such functionality, including use of the text box – as some individuals may not be familiar with them.

Hope you found this article helpful.?