Driving Group Phases & Discussion Analysis
2 Driving Group and Its Phases
SE can be divided into 4 phases:
- Presentation
- Warming Up
- Development
- Closing
Throughout the process, the facilitator intervenes to regulate or drive the information and communication. The more the facilitator intervenes, the more directive and less spontaneous the intervention becomes.
Group Presentation
Teach participants the art of operation and the roles of both the moderator and participants. Steps:
- Introduction of the moderator and the company or institution that requires research.
- An explanation of the technique used to investigate the task or object.
- A particular demand for participation from the audience.
- Presentation of justified registration systems and observers.
- A proposal of the topic and approach for immediate discussion.
The Warming-Up
Following the presentation, there is an initial phase of group formation and orientation to the objectives. Since the situation created a group needs time to adjust to the members and begin to interact as they would in a natural group, this should be established within 15 minutes without driving policy so that each participant takes the floor and gains the necessary confidence.
Group Development
After the warming-up, the group begins to work on research objectives. The researcher can be more regulatory and direct towards the object of research, using the script and intervention techniques to touch on the topics of interest.
Revitalization of the Group or Sharing
Once the work is done, the moderator can revive and restore the group’s comments that are considered most relevant to the research, with the agreement of group consensus.
Final Closing
Once the information is agreed upon, the group task ends with the training group. At this time, any individual tasks that have to do directly with the investigation are performed and concluded.
3. Transcription and Analysis of Group Discussion
The information obtained by a group is properly analyzed and interpreted in accordance with the objectives of the investigation.
The information in the GD is rich in nuances and content, in addition to being disorderly and complex.
The Preparation of Text for Analysis
It begins with the transcript, and its purpose is to translate and transform the recorded conversation into a written text for the corresponding analysis.
The transcription is intended to be faithful to the discourse produced by the group, but the process of transformation is difficult because its translation into a written text loses some of its richness and nuances. Try to be as faithful as possible to the speech, trying to resolve the limitations. This means a double effort:
- Include in the text dialogue and nonverbal events of interest to the understanding of discourse (silence, laughter, words that are heard wrong or badly expressed…). All this is translated into written language, so that the transcription is as accurate and rigorous as possible.
- Address and analyze, taking into account the recording of the conversation, so that the entire transcript should be accompanied by the tape and be able to hear it while you read.
In short: the transcript is nothing but a script or libretto where the actions of the various participants, including the moderator, succeed. The correct transcription meets certain requirements that go beyond the formal, as you have to achieve 2 goals:
- Collect the statements of participants following the thread of the conversation (who talks and how).
- Collect all the statements made towards each of the participants and do so literally, including unfinished, broken sentences… Without summarizing, as much of the information the group is on the way to say it and when it was said.