Probes: Truth or Consequences
Please take a few minutes to react to the following statements. Circle SA if you strongly agree, A if you agree, U if you are undecided or don’t think you have enough information, D if you disagree, or SD if you strongly disagree.
SA = Strongly agree U = Undecided SD = Strongly disagree
A = Agree D = Disagree
1. Focus groups and key informant interviews are both qualitative methods used to gather information. / SA A U D SD2. Focus group participants have something in common. / SA A U D SD
3. Asking a “yes” or “no” question during a focus group or interview is okay. / SA A U D SD
4. Being naïve about the topic can be a plus. / SA A U D SD
5. The participants’ first response pretty much tells the whole story. / SA A U D SD
6. The easiest way to get more information is to paraphrase what the person just said. / SA A U D SD
7. “Say more about that” is off-putting. / SA A U D SD
8. Probes should be consistent from interview to interview. / SA A U D SD
9. Probes should be agreed upon in advance. / SA A U D SD
Probes: Truth or Consequences
Answer Sheet
This handout provides guidelines on the most likely answer(s) for each of the questions. These questions are structured to prompt discussion, so in some cases there may be no right or wrong answer.
1. Focus groups and key informant interviews are both qualitative methods used to gather information.
Answer: Strongly Agree
Qualitative data collection focuses on the collection of data through words. Both focus groups and key informant interviews gather information through conversations with people.
2. Focus group participants have something in common.
Answer: Strongly Agree
Focus group participants should have something in common as they are being convened to discuss a given topic.
3. Asking a “yes” or “no” question during a focus group or interview is okay.
Answer: Undecided to Disagree
The purpose of a focus group is to get participants talking about a given topic. Answers to yes or no questions are brief and not conducive to a great deal of discussion. They should only have limited use, usually just to warm the group.
4. Being naïve about the topic can be a plus.
Answer: Agree
This can be a benefit as the facilitator has no pre-conceived ideas about what people will discuss. This lessens the tendency of the facilitator to lead the discussion in a given direction.
5. The participants’ first response pretty much tells the whole story.
Answer: Disagree
Given the opportunity, many individuals will provide more details to a response.
6. The easiest way to get more information is to paraphrase what the person just said.
Answer: Agree
Paraphrasing can be an effective way to probe and draw additional information from participants.
7. “Say more about that” is off-putting.
Answer: Disagree
If stated in a positive fashion with encouraging non-verbal language, this is a good invitation to talk more and can draw additional information from participants.
8. Probes should be consistent from interview to interview.
Answer: Agree to Undecided
Probes should generally be consistent from interview to interview so that the interviewer is collecting information in a consistent way. However, if an interviewee starts to discuss something unexpected but still relevant, it is appropriate for the interviewer to add in new probes.
9. Probes should be agreed upon in advance.
Answer: Agree to Undecided
Deciding on probes ahead of time ensures that the same set of probes are used with each group or interview. However, if a group or interviewee starts to discuss something unexpected but still relevant, it is OK to add new probes to draw out further information.