Exploring the Focus Group Approach in Audit Methodology

School: University of Texas, Permian Basin - Course: EDUC 4329 - Subject: Accounting

Focus Group Approach - David Dickson I am doing chapter 5, which talks about the Focus Group Approach. I leaned toward this approach because I think it is a very useful and beneficial approach. Many people are familiar with it in audit methodology and have an idea of how it works. Focus groups are a way of doing qualitative research, using group discussion. They are concerned not so much with establishing how extensive something is or how often it happens. "The function of focus groups is rather on uncovering the meanings and interpretations that individuals, in their own terms, place on their experiences" (Hargie, Tourish, pg. 122). Like I previously mentioned, focus groups are becoming more popular and more individuals are starting to use them. They have substantially grown in market research, health, and social sciences research. They have plenty to contribute to the communication auditing process. They can be used to conduct research to gather high- quality data, as a lens to focus on a particular issue or topic, or as a technique to generate research through unstructured group discussions. They can also be divided into three types of information gathering groups, which are triangulation, new concepts, and observation. If I were to use this technique with my audit plan, it would be a very useful one for analyzing my objectives and identifying the organizational issues that I need to understand. First, I would plan and prepare by having a clear vision. I know the importance of having a vision of the project, and it be entirely framed from early on. Some of the considerations I would keep in mind are: Who will participate? How will they be recruited? Where will the discussion take place? What is the time frame I have? Etc. Since the main purpose of a focus group is to shed light to the meanings and interpretations that others place on their experiences, I would allow lots of communication between participants. I'm not too sure of what my audit plan will be yet, but I do want participants to share experiences and give truthful inputs on the subject when researching. I do know that scheduling meetings and conferences should be a must during the process. Also keeping track of the given information is extremely important. Focus groups emphasize involvement and participation from members and it encourages them to speak their opinion and point of view. This is what I like most about this approach. It really allows participants to speak their mind and also have a look at what others have to say. This allows the researcher to really dig into people's minds and have a clear view of what the majority of individuals think on a certain topic or issue. Of course, this must be done professionally.

References Hargie, O., & Tourish, D. (Eds.). (2009). Auditing Organizational Communication: A Handbook of Research, Theory and Practice (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203883990