Qualitative data collection using online focus groups is increasing in popularity. However this may change the way discussion is created and steered by the participants and facilitators in these focus groups and so potentially influence the data collected. In a focus group study exploring end of life family conversations in African and Caribbean heritage communities, two focus groups
were held face-to-face and a further three took place online using the online video conference software, Microsoft teams. Sociograms and an interaction questionnaire were used to analyse participant interactions in each group. The study involved 21 participants across the five groups. The use of sociograms showed that direct participant to participant interactions were rarer
in the online groups, most interactions went via the facilitator who as a result retained more power over the direction of the conversation. Participants responses analysed using the interaction questionnaire showed that participants were stimulated by the experiences of others in both contexts. The facilitator found it harder to create rapport in the online groups than in the face-to-
face groups where conversation between participants seemed to flow more smoothly. The observer notes suggested that non-verbal communication was less evident in the online groups. In larger groups people made more use of turn taking using the hands-up function and chat box than in smaller groups where all participants could see each other more easily on screen.
Researchers need to be aware of the impact of different delivery modalities on group interactions and how this may change the
power dynamics of who is controlling the narrative and therefore the data generated. Group facilitators may need find it useful
to develop skills needed to maximise the conversational element of online forms of data collection.