1 Introduction
2 Focus groups as a cross-national research methodology
3 POLPART focus groups: comparing nine countries
4 Group composition: who participates in the focus groups?
4.1 The POLPART focus group composition
18–25 Low education | 26–40 Low education | 41–60 Low education | 61 + Low education | Activists |
18–25 High education | 26–40 High education | 41–60 High education | 61 + High education |
Country | Left–right self-placement (0–10) | Collective efficacy (0–10) | Political interest (0–10) | Voted in last national elections | Demonstrated in last 12 months |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
M (SD) | M (SD) | M (SD) | (%) | (%) | |
Argentina (N = 48) | 5.40 (1.90) | 7.43 (1.96) | 7.40 (1.58) | 100.0 | 35.4 |
Brazil (N = 31) | 3.96 (2.92) | 8.26 (2.65) | 7.20 (2.37) | 90.3 | 40.7 |
Germany (N = 43) | 4.79 (1.88) | 7.02 (1.68) | 8.00 (1.79) | 86.0 | 37.2 |
Greece (N = 48) | 3.62 (2.18) | 6.85 (2.57) | 7.67 (2.21) | 66.7 | 40.4 |
Hungary (N = 51) | 5.20 (2.84) | 6.63 (2.49) | 7.37 (1.83) | 88.2 | 11.8 |
Romania (N = 49) | 5.48 (2.74) | 7.23 (3.08) | 7.18 (2.46) | 73.5 | 22.4 |
The Netherlands (N = 45) | 3.75 (2.12) | 7.23 (1.88) | 7.07 (2.08) | 84.4 | 15.6 |
United Kingdom (N = 52) | 4.85 (2.47) | 7.58 (1.66) | 7.00 (2.12) | 90.4 | 3.8 |
Switzerland (N = 36) | 4.97 (1.99) | 7.31 (2.28) | 6.15 (2.38) | 69.4 | 12.8 |
5 Recruitment: how do you recruit focus group participants?
5.1 Recruitment strategies in the POLPART Project
Variable | Agency (n = 475) | Field (n = 350) | Test of difference | |
---|---|---|---|---|
M (SD) | M (SD) | t (DF) | P value | |
Personal efficacy | 7.15 (11.42) | 6.99 (10.86) | − 0.21 (823) | 0.84 |
Collective efficacy | 7.54 (5.32) | 8.03 (6.39) | 1.16 (823) | 0.25 |
Political Interest | 7.40 (2.01) | 7.23 (2.20) | − 1.15 (822) | 0.25 |
Political ideology | 5.03 (2.45) | 4.73 (2.83) | − 1.57 (814) | 0.11 |
Participated in demonstration | 2.40 (0.86) | 2.03 (0.79) | − 6.32 (823) | < 0.001 |
Contacted a politician | 2.51 (0.81) | 2.41 (0.80) | − 1.62 (822) | 0.11 |
6 Focus group questions: what do you ask participants and how do you moderate the discussion?
6.1 Type of questions
6.2 Moderation style
6.3 The POLPART questions and moderation style
– | Round of introduction: please introduce yourself and tell us what is the first thing or word that comes to mind when you think about politics? |
1. | Please discuss collectively, which five issues you believe are the most important for our society? |
2. | What can people do about these issues? |
Break (10 min) | |
3. | Some argue that people in our society are not very active in politics. Why do you think some people do not participate in politics? |
4. | Which of the following institutions listen to citizens the most? Which of these institutions can do the most for citizens? |
5. | Some people argue that we should move towards a system where people, instead of politicians, make important political decisions. What do you think about this idea? |