Challenges and Opportunities to the Flow of Communication: Online Focus Groups with Parents of Young Children, Professional Caregivers, and Intermediaries

To explore the information behavior in the context of child injury prevention, we conducted online focus groups with parents, professional caregivers, and intermediaries as part of a larger project. In this paper, we discuss our qualitative interview design: audiovisual, synchronous online focus groups. To do so, we analyze a crucial methodological issue of focus group interviews: the flow of communication. In our study, three main topics emerged that influenced the flow of communication in online focus groups: (a) communication mode(s), (b) (co-)moderation, and (c) distractions and interjections of other people. We conclude that depending on the research topic and target group, audio-only communication may be advantageous compared to audiovisual communication because lay people may disclose more on sensitive topics. Moreover, the considerate composition of the focus group is essential for participants’ interaction, so that all participants feel they have an important part to contribute to the discussion. Skilled co-moderation is crucial to successfully integrating all participants and evolving communication threads, and dealing with disruptions.