Statistical analysis of sensitive topics in group and individual interviews

The relative strengths of focus groups and individual interviews have been more the subject of speculation than systematic research. This study statistically tests the notion that participants in focus groups and individual interviews equally raise sensitive topics for discussion. Ninety-seven year-round residents from the Chelem Lagoon region in Yucatan, Mexico participated in 1 of 12 focus groups or 19 individual in-depth interviews. A professional moderator using the same discussion guide concerning the shared mangrove ecosystem conducted the sessions. The 31 sessions resulted in more than 500 pages of transcripts which were systematically and iteratively coded using a grounded theory approach. The coded qualitative data were transformed into summary variables that allowed for statistical analysis and testing of the research hypothesis. The study illustrates that the individual interviews were 18 times more likely to raise socially sensitive discussion topics than the focus groups. Additionally, the study found the two qualitative methods to reveal complementary, not substitute, sets of information.