Probing is a strategy used in interviews to a. Make it clear ...

[@Brianna17]

Probing is a strategy used in interviews to
 
  a. Make it clear that the interviewer is in charge.
  b. Limit the range of responses.
  c. Elicit more information in a specific area.
  d. Ensure a variety of interpretations of the question by different subjects.

Question 2

A clinical nurse at a large urban hospital has decided to conduct a descriptive qualitative study related to staff nurses' perceptions of the causes of various types of violence against nurses in their facility.
 
  As part of his research design, he hosts a series of focus groups with staff nurses during each of three shifts. What is considered the main advantage of using a focus group strategy as opposed to one-on-one interviews for data collection?
  a. Individuals who are alike on some characteristic are more likely to feel safer or less anxious expressing their views, especially with difficult experiences, when participating in a focus group rather than in a one-on-one interview.
  b. Focus groups allow the researcher to gather a lot of information in a short time.
  c. Focus groups require less planning than one-on-one interviews do, because interviewers should talk little and listen more.
  d. It is more efficient and less expensive to transcribe one interview with several participants rather than to transcribe several individual interviews.

[rachel]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: C
In probing, the interviewer asks participants to elaborate further on a topic through the use of non-threatening but thought-provoking questions. Although the questions are controlled by the researcher, the interviewer needs to establish a permissive atmosphere where the participant is encouraged to respond fully and honestly to the questions asked. Verbally or non-verbally asserting that the interviewer is in charge hinders this process. Structured questions may limit the range of responses given by participants, but this is not the purpose of probing. Ensuring a variety of interpretations of the question by different subjects is not the purpose of probing. Interview questions should be designed so that each subject's interpretation of the question is as consistent as possible while still encouraging the respondent to answer fully and honestly.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: A
The assumption underlying focus groups is that in settings that are permissive and non-threatening, participants are more likely to express and to clarify their views than they would be in individual interviews, especially for sensitive topics. This allows for richer data collection. Focus groups often generate a great deal of information from the participants' perspectives and do so in a short period of time, but this is not the primary advantage of using this data collection strategy. Conducting a focus group involves a great deal of advance planning to ensure that the interviewer asks relevant questions in a way that is non-intrusive, non-threatening, and safe. Both one-on-one and focus group interviews require careful planning. Transcribing tapes from both individual and group interviews can be time-consuming and challenging. This, however, is not the primary reason to conduct a focus group about the phenomena of interest instead of a one-on-one interview.

[@Brianna17]

Excellent

[jordangronback]

Great answer, keep it coming