Method Used Not Well-suited to Answering Research Question
Examples from Reviewers' Comments
"The focus group analysis is designed to discern differences between Asian and Hispanic men in regard to their preferences for obesity treatment. This would seem to be a difficult case to make, requiring broader and deeper study than the one conducted here."
"There does not seem to be a justification for using focus groups. I am not convinced that this data collection strategy is preferable over conducting in-depth interviews, which would likely yield more nuanced responses concerning the experience of headaches. A primary reason for choosing focus groups is that the resulting data will be enriched based on the participants' interaction. It is not clear how that applies here."
"Reports of self-perception are always subject to observation and reporting inaccuracies. More in-depth qualitative methods (long interviews, focus groups, observation approaches) could have overcome the self-reporting bias in this study."
"Relying on quick jotted answers reflect the common assumptions of others, socially acceptable answers and answers that may be true only superficially."
"In your methods section you note that you used small groups because you wanted to explore physicians' genuine thoughts and attitudes by creating a safe environment. This would in fact argue for using in depth interviews where there would be a better opportunity for exploring perceptions and where confidentiality would be easier to ensure."
Click here to return to Common Pitfalls page