Optimising Rigor in Focus Group Analysis: Using Content/Thematic and Form/Structural Approaches to Understand British Somali’s Experiences of Policing in London

Abstract

There is evidence that focus groups are useful to explore issues with socially marginalized groups, notably when participants have shared particular experiences. Focus groups have the methodological potential to highlight group norms and processes, and to illuminate the social and cultural contexts in which individual agency takes place. However, an often cited concern about focus groups is researchers’ inadequate description of the analytical process which then affects the usefulness and credibility of the findings and rigor in analysis. In this article we address this concern and offer an analytical framework which takes account of the content (themes) and form (structure) of focus group data. Framed within an interpretivist paradigm, our analysis is driven by a theoretical interest in how race/ethnicity as social positions shape young British Somali men’s individual and shared experiences of policing in London.