Answer:
1. Not a good opening question as may lead to a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. It is also a leading question as it assumes caring for people was likely to have been an influential factor. A better alternative could be: ‘Can you tell me about the reasons why you decided to become a nurse/midwife?’
2. May lead to a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response. Could be used as a probing question after the question above has been asked.
3. A muddled question which should be split into two separate questions.
4. A closed and leading question. A better alternative could be ‘Can you tell me what it’s like caring for sick people?’ and then follow with probing questions to establish if they felt adequately prepared for the aspects of the role they described.
Suggest four ground rules to be agreed by participants before a focus group commences:
- Maintaining confidentiality
- Allowing each other to have their say
- Trying not to speak over each other
- Acknowledging the differing views of others
