Table 9. Overview of key qualitative methodologies

Methodology	Overview	Strengths	Limitations	Examples of use
Focus group discussions (FGDs)	FGDs are used to understand the perspectives or opinions of a group of individuals. FGDs can be used to get feedback on a project, reach groups typically underrepresented in surveys, and compare and contrast norms between groups.	FGDs are useful for exploring a single subject in depth, provided enough is known about the subject to develop a topic guide for discussion.	The data that can be gathered from an FGD relies heavily on the skills of the facilitator. FGDs must be recorded and transcribed, which produces a large amount of data, may be timely and difficult to analyse and interpret objectively.	FGDs conducted before and after an intervention can be used to explore factors associated with participation or non-participation (reach) or conducted later in the lifetime of an intervention to determine whether implementation has transitioned to the routine (maintenance).
Key informant interviews (KII)	KIIs are similar to FGDs but are conducted on an individual level. Like FGDs, the interview is guided by an interview guide that encourages the participant to talk in depth about the subject area without specific prompting.	KIIs are useful when preliminary knowledge on a particular issue is needed, when individuals or social settings are difficult to access, or if subject matter may be sensitive and people will not speak in FGD settings.	Similar to FGDs, the weakness of KIIS includes difficulty in transcribing and analyzing large amounts of data. Additionally, there is a risk of bias if the participants are not carefully selected, which may limit how applicable or relevant the findings are to other similar populations or settings.	KIIs can be conducted with organizational staff and implementers to identify what factors contributed to decisions to take up the intervention, and what factors may be associated with different levels of adoption.

Methodology

Overview

Strengths

Limitations

Examples of use

Focus group discussions (FGDs)

FGDs are used to understand the perspectives or opinions of a group of individuals. FGDs can be used to get feedback on a project, reach groups typically underrepresented in surveys, and compare and contrast norms between groups.

FGDs are useful for exploring a single subject in depth, provided enough is known about the subject to develop a topic guide for discussion.

The data that can be gathered from an FGD relies heavily on the skills of the facilitator.

FGDs must be recorded and transcribed, which produces a large amount of data, may be timely and difficult to analyse and interpret objectively.

FGDs conducted before and after an intervention can be used to explore factors associated with participation or non-participation (reach) or conducted later in the lifetime of an intervention to determine whether implementation has transitioned to the routine (maintenance).

Key informant interviews (KII)

KIIs are similar to FGDs but are conducted on an individual level. Like FGDs, the interview is guided by an interview guide that encourages the participant to talk in depth about the subject area without specific prompting.

KIIs are useful when preliminary knowledge on a particular issue is needed, when individuals or social settings are difficult to access, or if subject matter may be sensitive and people will not speak in FGD settings.

Similar to FGDs, the weakness of KIIS includes difficulty in transcribing and analyzing large amounts of data.

Additionally, there is a risk of bias if the participants are not carefully selected, which may limit how applicable or relevant the findings are to other similar populations or settings.

KIIs can be conducted with organizational staff and implementers to identify what factors contributed to decisions to take up the intervention, and what factors may be associated with different levels of adoption.