In participatory research, if the information being generated belongs to the community and can be provided in an unbiased way by key informants, there is no need to select these key informants randomly (Barahona and Levy 2002, 23). Given that this institutional mapping is generating largely interpretive qualitative and quantitative data, however, it will be important to try to reduce bias by selecting (socially stratified) participants from the household survey sample using probability-based (random) methods. It should be noted that within each social stratum there is an ethical trade-off between employing probability-based (random) sampling to offset biases introduced by participant self-selection and adhering to participatory research principles of including those who wish to be included.<sup>36</sup> A less objective but more voluntaristic and democratic alternative is to record key social information (e.g. sex, age, educational level, religion, and reading ability) about each participant in order to assess the profile of each socially stratified focus group (Barahona and Levy 2002, 26).

Each group should have a moderator and two observers. The moderator facilitates the discussion, probes on key issues, elicits comments from all participants, and focuses the discussion on the issues of interest. This should be done without interrupting or ignoring extraneous comments from participants, but also ensuring that the discussion remains focused as far as possible. The observers take notes on the content of the discussion and process of group dynamics, noting, for instance, who talks the most or the least, who does not participate at all or defers to others in the group, who tries to dominate the discussion, and so on. The observers will record the discussion on tape, and photograph and sketch any visual diagrams from the tools. The facilitators will explain the purpose of the discussion and research, and prior consent will be asked from the group for the use of tape-recorders.

The facilitation and observation of participatory group discussions using some of the tools suggested is not an easy task. Researchers should be well aware not only of how to apply and use the tools, but also of the importance of the manner in which they facilitate and behave when using the tools in a discussion. Training researchers is key to the success and accuracy of participatory methodologies in the gathering of data.

Each group discussion should last about two to three hours. The discussion should be based on the tools suggested in table 1 and around a set of guide questions discussed below. One possible problem with focus group discussions is that too much information may be generated. Key prompts are highlighted in box 1, designed for use by experienced researchers to explore selected key indicators.

**Box 1.  Checklist of prompts for the facilitation of focus group discussions in each domain/subdomain.**

The following prompts are designed to help an experienced focus group facilitator to guide discussion and elicit key information in each domain and sub-domain. The prompts are not designed to be followed rigidly.

<u>State – justice:</u> 36 These ethical issues are discussed further in the “Parti-Numbers” Network’s Guidelines and Code of Conduct (2003), available at www.reading.ac.uk/ssc.

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