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FOCUS GROUPS WITH MINORITY ETHNIC COMMUNITIES

CHAPTER TWO APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

2.1 This chapter details the aims of the research and describes the approach and methodology used to undertake this study.

Focus Groups With Minority Ethnic Communities

2.2 The main aim of this research study is "to investigate and identify requirements for a new national survey of Scotland's minority ethnic populations based upon the views of the potential data providers".

2.3 The specific objectives of the research are to identify:

• Important issues of relevance to the day to day needs and circumstances of minority ethnic communities particularly in relation to Scottish public policy and service provision;
• Potential survey topics which would illuminate barriers faced by and opportunities presented to members of minority ethnic communities;
• Potential survey topics which would illuminate disadvantage and discrimination faced by members of minority ethnic communities;
• Potential survey topics which would reflect attitudes and expectations and aspirations of members of minority ethnic communities;
• The relative priorities of the topics identified for any future survey;
• Implications of the findings for the design and conduct of the survey;
• Implications of the findings for the associated research programme.

2.4 Although the original aim of this research was to focus on a new proposed survey of minority ethnic communities, as Chapter 1 highlighted, the thinking behind such a survey has now broadened to focus on the different possible ways of researching and consulting with minority ethnic groups. In addition to the above, therefore, this report aims to highlight other research methods and approaches appropriate to this purpose.

Methodology

2.5 To undertake the review and achieve the study objectives, Blake Stevenson used the following methodology:

• Desk based research;
• Identification and recruitment of research participants;
• Identification and recruitment of assistant facilitators;
• Development of topic schedule;
• Development of participant monitoring form;
• Focus groups with members of minority ethnic communities;
• Transcription and analysis of focus groups.

Desk Based Research

2.6 This study was underpinned by a desk based research exercise to set the context within an appropriate strategic, policy and legal framework. This context has been presented in Chapter 1.

2.7 An analysis of the composition of minority ethnic communities in Scotland was undertaken. Sources for information included the 1991 Census data, the research report Ethnic Minorities in Scotland (Scottish Office, 1991) and Equality in Scotland: Ethnic Minorities (Scottish Executive, 2001).

2.8 The review of relevant research also informed the development of the focus group topic schedules and the groups consulted.

Identification of Research Participants

2.9 In the identification of research participants, the following elements were taken into consideration in an attempt to reflect the composition of minority ethnic communities in Scotland:

• attempting to reflect proportionality of different ethnic groups in the study to best reflect and represent the national picture as given in the 1991 Census;
• identification of a range of geographical areas including urban and rural;
• attempting to reflect the diversity and variation amongst and within minority ethnic communities in Scotland.

Minority Ethnic Groups

2.10 The research required that views be sought from a cross-section of minority ethnic communities. This aimed to reflect the reflection of diversity and to include the views of visible and non-visible members of the populations and reflect the views of people of different ages, generations, gender, faiths and geographical locations. In the UK, the focus of research on minority ethnic groups has been on the non-White population. In the first instance, therefore, Blake Stevenson sought to ensure that the numbers of participants from different non-White ethnic groups would reflect the national percentages as indicated by the 1991 Census data ⁵. To this end, we endeavoured to achieve focus group compositions which reflected a cross-section of the non-White minority populations as detailed in Table 2.1. This shows that the largest non-White minority ethnic groups in Scotland in 1991 were Pakistani, Chinese and Indian. Given the relatively small numbers of some groups such as Black Africans, numbers for these groups were then boosted to ensure adequate representation.

Table 2.1 The size of the non-White minority ethnic population in Scotland (1991)

Source: General Registers Office Scotland, 1991 Census Data

2.11 While the focus of this research was primarily on non-white minority ethnic communities, it was considered important to also include white minority ethnic groups. These were likely to be Gypsies/Travellers, Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Eastern Europe, and White minorities such as Irish, Jewish and Polish populations.

2.12 The twice-yearly count of Gypsies/Travellers in Scotland (Scottish Executive, 2001b) places the number of Gypsy/Traveller households at around 500 between July 1998 and January 2001. This is thought to represent approximately 2,000 people. Other estimates, for example those given by the Scottish Gypsy/Traveller Association and Kendrick and Clark (1996) place the number of Gypsies/Travellers in Scotland at any one time as much higher and around 15,000, with approximately 7,000 living in caravans and 8,000 living in houses.

2.13 Although there are no exact figures for the numbers of asylum seekers or refugees in Scotland the Scottish Refugee Council ⁶ estimate that between 6,000 and 10,000 refugees reside in Scotland, the majority concentrated in Glasgow and, to a lesser extent, Edinburgh.

2.14 The Irish comprise the largest minority ethnic group in Scotland and are recognised by the Commission for Racial Equality to experience a range of inequalities. In the 2001 census an Irish category was included in the ethnic origin section for the first time.

2.15 The System 3 Scoping Study (2001: 17) ⁷ estimates the number of Jewish people in Scotland to be less than 10,000 with approximately 6,500 residing in Glasgow.

2.16 More up to date estimates of the size of some of these groups will be made available when the results of the 2001 Census of population are published.

Geographical areas

2.17 The Census of Population 1991 shows that the vast majority of non-White minority ethnic people live in one of Scotland's four major cities. Only three areas in Scotland have a minority ethnic population that accounts for more than 5% of the total population; Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee (System 3, 2001:16). In consultation with the Research Advisory Group, four geographical areas were chosen to reflect the distribution, size and composition of minority ethnic groups around Scotland, whilst also trying to ensure that more isolated and non visible groups, such as those living in rural areas and outside Scotland's main cities, were also included. The areas chosen were Edinburgh, Fife, Glasgow and Grampian.

2.18 Glasgow and Edinburgh were included as they contain the largest and most diverse minority ethnic communities in Scotland. They account for 34.3% and 15.7% of the minority ethnic population in Scotland respectively.

2.19 An analysis of the Census data for Fife indicates that although the non-White population is relatively small, the composition of the communities in most cases reflects national trends and, in some, such as the Chinese population, is higher than the national average. Fife is also a more geographically dispersed population than either Glasgow or Edinburgh and contains large rural and semi-rural areas. For these reasons it is reasonable to expect that the experiences of minority ethnic communities will also differ.

2.20 Like Fife, Grampian's population only contains a small number of non- White people, just 2,300, but according to the Census has the highest concentration of Black Africans. Grampian contains a significant rural population and in Aberdeen is characterised by a very transient population associated with the oil industry and universities. Again the experiences of minority ethnic communities in this area may differ from those in the other areas.

Interest groups

2.21 Blake Stevenson identified from previous research the need to reach and target research participants amongst the least visible groups and to involve a range of communities of interest ⁸.

2.22 Hard to reach groups which remain invisible or partly visible in research and policy ⁹, include:

• older people
• young people
• women
• the Chinese population
• Gypsies/Travellers
• asylum seekers and refugees
• those living outside of Glasgow
• rural populations
• small businesses
• faith communities

2.23 Existing research highlights the importance of capturing different generations and in particular the need to include the voices of older people and young people, including school-age. Indeed, the Scoping Study (System 3, 2001) prioritises the need for a separate survey for young people. The importance of including traders and small businesses is clear from the statistic that self-employment is five times higher within the minority ethnic community (Netto et al., 2001: 128) whilst rural populations and faith communities were consistently highlighted as an invisible group for which little is known. The Audit of Research on Minority Ethnic Issues in Scotland from a Race Perspective (Netto et al., 2001) also pinpoints the Chinese population and the minority ethnic population outside of Glasgow as little researched.

2.24 The research considered it important to emphasise differences by gender and in this study we decided to allow a further space for the voice of women-only groups and mothers with children to be heard specifically. The voices of White minority groups including Gypsies/Travellers, asylum seekers and refugees and other white minorities have been recognised by some existing research. However, research has tended to focus on non-White minorities and the Scoping Study (System 3, 2001) did not consider it feasible for White minorities to be included in a national survey. At this stage of the research programme it was considered important not to exclude these groups.

2.25 To ensure that diversity within and between minority ethnic groups was represented, and to reflect the findings from the previous research, Blake Stevenson, in consultation with the Research Advisory Group, devised a typology of focus groups, to reflect both visible and non-visible groups. These are:

• Non specialist: made up of members of any minority ethnic communities (aged between 25-60/65), in paid employment and not in paid employment)
• Older people: people aged 60/65+
• Young people: people aged 12-25
• Mothers with young children (children under 16)
• Traders and self-employed
• Asylum seekers and refugees
• White minorities

2.26 In practice, four modifications were made to the focus group types. These modifications were necessary because of practical and cultural considerations. In the first instance, it became clear through the two pilot focus groups that the need for interpreters was most common amongst older age groups. For this reason, having ethnically mixed groups of older people was seen as impractical and thus, older Asian ¹⁰ and older Chinese people were offered single groups within which to participate. In the second instance, our experience of trying to organise non-specialist groups containing both men and women from some sections of the minority ethnic community proved culturally inappropriate. In these cases participating organisations specifically requested non-specialist women only groups.

2.27 In the third case, White minorities became focused on the Gypsy/Traveller community rather than the wider White minorities including Polish, Irish and Jewish communities. This was, to some extent, due to practical considerations including the inability to reach and secure the participation of members of these communities within the time frame. In the case of the Polish community, discussions indicated that first generation communities are now small and ageing. It had been a predominantly male population and many had married into the majority population. Subsequent generations are now well integrated and identification of potential participants is difficult. In discussions with the Polish community in Fife it was considered that second and third generation Polish people would have little to share or to comment on due to these levels of integration. This in itself is an important point.

2.28 It is recognised that the needs of the other White minority groups are important but only the needs of Gypsies/Travellers have been addressed in this research.

2.29 Finally, it was hoped that a focus group with asylum seekers and refugees in Glasgow would be conducted but ongoing research on ' Asylum Seekers in Scotland' commissioned by the Scottish Executive has explored their views in more depth instead. Efforts were made to organise an asylum seeker and refugee focus group in Aberdeen but this did not attract an adequate number of participants.

Recruiting Participants

2.30 In order to recruit participants Blake Stevenson undertook the following tasks:

• Compiled a database of organisations working with minority ethnic communities;
• Worked with such organisations to identify suitable smaller groups and organisations who might be willing to participate;
• Wrote out to all potential participants a standard covering letter followed by a telephone call;
• Blake Stevenson worked with assisting organisations to identify suitable participants in line with the focus group typologies;
• The Scottish Executive made available the contact details of minority ethnic people, collected during the Scottish Household Survey, who had indicated their willingness to participate in further research.

2.31 It was considered that the best approach to reach minority ethnic communities would be through organisations and projects who represent members of minority ethnic groups. This was particularly the case for reaching non-visible and hard to reach groups. There are a number of reasons why this approach was considered important and appropriate. First, it is an inclusive approach which draws on the experience and knowledge of organisations, and their skills in engaging with minority ethnic groups. Second, the inclusion of groups and organisations and their members directly includes them in the research process and helps to create space for more voices and to facilitate the empowerment of people by listening to those views. Third, this process allows consultation to be participative and in partnership, a priority stressed by recent strategies in the areas of equality and policy making.

2.32 Accessing and identifying participants via organisations was the principal method used and was successful in recruiting the vast majority of participants. A list of the organisations who assisted with and participated in the research and the lessons learned from this approach are detailed in Annex 1.

2.33 To a large degree the ability and willingness of minority ethnic community organisations and groups to work along side the consultants influenced the success of this survey. Blake Stevenson contacted a wide range of organisations in the four geographical areas with a view to assisting us to identify and contact members of the different communities and interest groups.

2.34 Advice was sought from relevant contacts and from the Research Advisory Group about whom to contact. Each contact was then followed up by a letter and accompanying literature explaining the background and purpose of the research. On some occasions, where appropriate or where specifically requested, the consultants visited the organisation to explain the research in greater detail and to address any questions people had.

2.35 The majority of responses from organisations were positive in that they were able and willing to assist in the research. Some organisations were unable to assist due to financial, time or practical constraints. Overall, this was a positive and successful approach which facilitated partnership working and the successful inclusion of some groups who are hard to reach or traditionally absent from consultations.

2.36 Another approach applied to recruit participants was to use Scottish Household Survey contacts. A database of names was provided by the Scottish Executive of people who had indicated in the Scottish Household Survey that they were a member of a minority ethnic group and that they would be willing to participate in further research. Blake Stevenson then wrote out to all potential participants, enclosing a letter about the review, a reply slip indicating readiness or not to attend and a return envelope.

2.37 This was a method which did not work particularly well in the context of this research. There was a significant time delay in receiving the contact details, compiling a mail shot and receiving replies. A total of 80 letters were sent out and 14 responses were received. Eight people indicated that they did not want to take part in the research, whilst 6 indicated that they would like to take part in the research. With such small numbers spread across the 4 geographical areas this method was not successful in sourcing potential participants.

2.38 There were two particular issues which impacted on the recruitment of participants: research fatigue and gatekeepers.

Research Fatigue

2.39 An issue which impacted on the identification and recruitment of research participants was 'research fatigue' amongst minority ethnic communities.

2.40 This was alluded to by staff both in organisations who did or did not participate in the review. It is important to bear in mind that a considerable amount of research about minority ethnic groups has been and continues to be conducted especially at local level. The researchers encountered a strong sense that sufficient research had already taken place and, significantly, that little practical action or outcomes had come about as a result of this.

2.41 The question of 'research fatigue' needs, however, to be balanced with a consideration of how many people from the minority ethnic community have actually participated directly in the research and in particular how many people at the grass roots level have the opportunity to articulate their experiences.

2.42 The experience of the Researchers is that most members of minority ethnic communities know about research that has been carried out and the results of the studies. However, few of the focus group participants had actually ever taken part in a research project or been consulted with. The lesson learned here is the importance of clarity over the purpose of research and the potential outcomes and of the importance of a comprehensive dissemination strategy outlining action to be taken as a result of the research.

Gatekeepers

2.43 A particular issue which emerged from the approach of working in partnership with organisations who represent minority ethnic communities is gatekeeping. This is a situation where organisations, projects and their staff pose a potential barrier to research with minority ethnic communities. By acting as gatekeepers to communities and individuals they have the potential to make decisions on behalf of their clients and communities without actually consulting them.

2.44 Gatekeeping organisations also have the potential to make decisions about who should participate, whether or not there should be single sex groups, whether the group should be of a single ethnicity and whether an interpreter is required. This may result in some degree of sampling bias as some social groupings from within the minority ethnic community may be less likely to be involved in these organisations and/or be invited to participate. e.g. older women, young men, unemployed people, disabled people and other people who are outside of the 'mainstream' community for various reasons. Careful consultations between the consultants and the assisting organisation are therefore required, often over extended periods of time and consideration needs to be given to the characteristics of the participating groups and the ways in which these may influence the results of the research

Recruiting and Training of Assistant Facilitators

2.45 In addition to working with relevant organisations and agencies, the research team recruited and trained a number of assistant facilitators from the local areas with a knowledge of issues relating to minority ethnic communities to assist in the facilitation of the focus groups.

2.46 The use of assistant facilitators was favoured as a method of encouraging a partnership approach as well as helping to ensure that all participants were able to have their say. The assistant facilitators brought to the research local knowledge and experience which assisted in keeping the focus group discussions relevant and informed. In addition to helping facilitate groups, the assistants were asked to write up their own notes and interpretation of the research discussions and priority issues. These were then included in the overall analysis of the focus groups which helped to make this element of the research inclusive of people from minority ethnic communities or of organisations who represent them.

2.47 The role of the assistant facilitator is given in more detail in Annex 1 along with lessons learned. In summary, however, the role of the assistant facilitator was to:

• support the consultant with their knowledge;
• act as a bridge between the participants and the consultant;
• engage with the participants to facilitate involvement;
• assist the consultant in ensuring everyone has their say;
• assist the consultant to ensure that the discussion remained relevant.

2.48 As Annex 1 makes clear, it was not necessary for the facilitator to be a member of the same minority ethnic community for them to help engage with the participants to facilitate participant involvement. Rather, what was most important were the facilitation skills of the person recruited.

2.49 Overall, this was a successful exercise and added to the research process. Whilst it was beneficial to have this local input, the main skill which assisted the research the most was the facilitation and people skills of the assistants.

Development of the Topic Schedule

2.50 The work already undertaken to inform the new minority ethnic survey had clearly identified a number of potential topics for a new survey or research programme. ¹¹ These were used to inform this study and included the following:

• Demographic and household data;
• Culture and identity;
• Ethnicity and employment;
• Harassment and victimisation;
• Health;
• Public service provision;
• Social inclusion.

2.51 The remit for the focus groups was to provide information on two areas:

1) Identification of priority issues important to the daily lives of minority ethnic communities;
2) Views on a new proposed survey and research programme.

2.52 Drawing on the previous work already conducted to inform the research programme and in consultation with the research Advisory Group, Blake Stevenson devised a focus group schedule in three parts:

• Focus group protocol
• Part 1 - Priority areas
• Part 2 - The survey

Focus group protocol

2.53 Blake Stevenson developed a protocol which provided guidance to both the facilitator and assistant facilitator about the process of the focus group and ensured conformity of methods and approach across all of the groups. The protocol allowed the facilitator to introduce each focus group to the ground rules for the discussion. Participants were taken through the purpose of the research, the clients, the use of interpreters and recording of the discussions and the ground rules for participants including confidentiality and respect for others' views. Once the groundrules had been agreed, the focus group would commence.

Part 1- Priority Areas

2.54 This section of the focus group schedule set out the areas for discussion looking at issues which are important in people's everyday lives. Participants were shown a list of areas of interest which was made available in different languages and each explained by the facilitator. Groups were then asked to agree together three priority areas around which discussion would be based. Groups were not restricted to the list and could add any additional areas. Some groups also chose more than three topics whilst others chose less. Groups reached a consensus through discussion and where consensus was not reached, all opinions were still considered and recorded. The areas listed for participants were as follows:

• Employment;
• Life long learning - Education;
• Health;
• Provision of public services (housing, social work and transport);
• Being part of a community (social inclusion);
• Justice and the law;
• Business support;
• Support networks and organisations;
• Poverty;
• Being active - volunteering.

2.55 These topics were not considered to sit in isolation, and are cross-cut by a number of themes including harassment and discrimination, culture and identity, the provision of specialist versus mainstream services, geographical location and the appropriateness of service provision. These themes informed a series of questions which were used to guide the discussion.

Part 2- The Survey

2.56 The second element of the topic schedule related to the potential survey process. A series of questions were posed to the groups in relation to the priorities and expectations for a survey process; potential survey methods; the most effective methods of involving minority ethnic communities in the survey, and suggestions for future development of research.

Development of the Monitoring Form

2.57 At the end of each focus group, participants were asked to complete a 'participant monitoring form' which in turn allowed Blake Stevenson to collect basic demographic and ethnicity information on each participant. The form asked for baseline information on gender, age, marital status, employment status, dependants, disability, ethnicity, residency, main language and ability to read and write English. A copy of the form is contained as Annex 3.

2.58 The monitoring form served a number of purposes. Completion of the monitoring forms allowed Blake Stevenson to observe the composition of the focus groups to ensure adequate representation of different minority ethnic groups. Subsequent questions relating to main language and people's ability to both speak and write English also provided information useful for planning future research.

2.59 The monitoring form was also used to look at the different ways of reporting ethnicity. The form contained two questions relating to ethnicity, the first question was an open-ended question, asking participants to describe their own ethnicity whilst the second question asked participants to place themselves in an ethnic category as used in the Census of Population 2001.

2.60 The rationale behind this approach was to illuminate differences between how people describe themselves when given a free choice and how they describe themselves when asked to do so within the limits of pre-existing categories. This data highlighted the different ways in which people identify themselves, for example, by religion, country of origin, colour or a mixture.

2.61 The design of the form was made as straightforward as possible to ease understanding for all participants, including those for whom English was not their first language. There were some instances where individuals were not able to complete the monitoring form because of language difficulties. On these occasions, information was provided verbally through an interpreter and recorded. An analysis of the key data from the monitoring forms can be found in the Chapter 3.

Focus Group Meetings

2.62 A total of 29 focus group meetings were held in the four areas. These are detailed in Table 2.2. It was hoped that a total of 32 focus groups would be held but four did not go ahead due to difficulties in recruiting participants and time delays whilst an additional white minorities group was held in the Lothians.

Table 2.2 Summary Focus Group Grid

2.63 On average, seven people participated in each focus group, although on those occasions where additional people were recruited or expressed a wish to attend, the participant numbers were extended.

2.64 The size of the focus groups was envisaged to be small enough to encourage contributions by all but large enough to generate discussion. The use of an assistant facilitator also helped to ensure that everybody who wanted to contribute was able to.

2.65 However, the focus group forum does have limitations that should be acknowledged. It is unlikely, for example, in a group setting that sensitive or personal issues, such as bullying at school, will be raised in an in-depth way. A one to one interview approach would be more useful in such situations. It is also recognised that discussions are impacted upon by group characteristics and dynamics and especially by the mix of gender and ethnic groups.

2.66 The facilitators and assistant facilitators took detailed notes during the discussion. In addition, the sessions were tape recorded to allow for accuracy and detail. Edited transcripts of tapes were produced to ensure the anonymity of participants and to omit duplication and irrelevant detail.

Focus Group Transcriptions and Analysis

2.67 The analysis presented in Chapter 4 and 5 are based on the transcription of the tapes and a synthesis of the notes taken by the facilitator and assistant facilitator. Notes produced for each focus group provided a detailed description and preliminary analysis of the main issues discussed and underlying themes raised. Initial analysis was based on a standard case-based and theme-based approach which involves the coding of material and the identification of linkages and relationships manually. This was supplemented by the 'Framework' approach of constructing charts and matrices based on emergent themes and topics to analyse across themes and within groups.

2.68 The analysis was guided by the main elements of priority issues, issues specific to minority ethnic communities, generic issues, geographic location, interest group, ethnic group and themes.

Conclusion

2.69 This chapter has outlined the approaches and methods used in the study to met the research aims. It has highlighted some of the practical, ethical and methodological issues that arise from undertaking research with minority ethnic communities. A fuller discussion of these and a brief guide to the lessons learned in terms of the practice and process of conducting this research are provided in Annex 1.

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