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Integrating New Media into Communication Research: Multi-site
Videoconferencing for Focus Groups with Remote First Nation
Community Members
Reference: Grat t on, Marie- France and O’Donnell, Susan ( 2009) I nt egrat ing New Media int o Com m unicat ion Research: Mult i- sit e Videoconferencing for Focus Groups wit h Rem ot e First Nat ion Com m unit y Mem bers. Canadian Com m unicat ion Associat ion ( CCA 09) , Carlet on Universit y, Ot t awa, May 28- 30.
I n t e gr a t in g N e w M e dia in t o Com m u n ica t ion Re se a r ch :
M u lt i- sit e Vide ocon fe r e n cin g for Focu s Gr ou ps w it h Re m ot e
Fir st N a t ion Com m u n it y M e m be r s
M a r ie - Fr a n ce Gr a t t on
Univer sit y of Ot t aw a and Nat ional Research Council, Ot t aw a
Su sa n O'D on n e ll
Nat ional Research Council and Univer sit y of New Brunsw ick, Frederict on
Ab st r a ct : New m edia offer social science researchers m ore opt ions for conduct ing research.
Many researchers have been using t ext - based exchanges on t he I nt ernet as a dat a collect ion m et hod. However som e sit uat ions do not lend t hem selves t o t ext - only exchange; a prim e exam ple is int erviews wit h research part icipant s from a cult ural or com m unit y background t hat is out side t he researchers’ daily fram e of reference. I n t his sit uat ion, visual cues and face- t o- face cont act are essent ial for conveying inform at ion t hat w ill build t rust and com fort levels bet ween part icipant s and t he researcher. Conversely, it is not alw ays possible for researchers t o t ravel t o conduct focus groups and int erview s in person, especially when t ravel is prohibit ively t im consum ing and expensive. This reason – t oo expensive and t im e-consum ing – is oft en given t o explain t he lack of qualit at ive research wit h part icipant s living in rem ot e First Nat ion com m unit ies. This paper present s an overview of a research m et hod developed in collaborat ion wit h our research part ner K- Net and KORI ( Keewayt inook
Okim akanak) in nort hw est ern Ont ario. The specific st udy invest igat ed preferences for online healt h inform at ion for First Nat ions people living in rem ot e com m unit ies. Working w it h K-Net , w e developed a m et hod t o use m ult i- sit e videoconferencing for focus groups – live visual and audio exchange bet ween t he researcher in Ot t awa and part icipant s in m ult iple rem ot e First Nat ion com m unit ies in nort hwest ern Ont ario. The paper present s som e of t he challenges of research wit h rem ot e com m unit ies, an overview of t he st udy, t he
m et hodology, t he t echnology used, a profile of t he research part ner and research
part icipant s, t he process for t he focus groups, w hat w ent w ell and t he advant ages of using t his m et hod and som e of t he challenges w e experienced. Our conclusion encourages ot her researchers t o t ry t his innovat ive m et hod t o include m ore rem ot e First Nat ion com m unit y m em bers in part icipat ory research proj ect s.
1 . I n t r odu ct ion
When conduct ing research wit h First Nat ions people, t he fact t hat m ost com m unit ies are rural and rem ot e can be a challenge for m any researchers. Access t o t hese com m unit ies can be very cost ly and researchers m ust invest m ore t im e for t ravelling. The sam e is t rue for First Nat ion researchers want ing t o conduct research out side of t heir com m unit ies. There is a need for ot her m eans of com m unicat ing requiring no t ravel t hat will m inim ize research cost s and consequent ly encourage and increase research wit h First Nat ions. Researchers have used different m et hods in t he past t o com m unicat e wit h First Nat ions people in rem ot e com m unit ies. However, m any of t hese m et hods have proven t o be inadequat e for research in an Aboriginal cont ext .
This paper describes a new m et hod of dat a collect ion for qualit at ive research wit h rem ot e First Nat ion com m unit ies. I n t he specific research for which t his m et hod was developed, videoconferencing was used t o conduct focus group int erviews wit h First Nat ions people t o learn about t heir preferences for online healt h inform at ion. This innovat ive and cost - saving dat a collect ion m et hod could be applied t o any qualit at ive research requiring com m unicat ion wit h rem ot e and rural com m unit ies.
This paper st art s wit h an overview of t he challenges of doing research wit h rem ot e
com m unit ies and how researchers have used broadband net works and t he I nt ernet in t he past t o collect dat a rem ot ely for qualit at ive research. The cont ext and background for t he research t hat drove t he developm ent of t he new dat a collect ion m et hod is t hen described, followed by a det ailed descript ion of t he m et hod used t o collect dat a for t his research. The subsequent sect ion report s on t he result s of using t his m et hod, by st at ing t he advant ages of t his m et hod and what went well as well as it s lim it s and challenges. Finally, t he last sect ion discusses t he m aj or result s and offers som e t hought s for fut ure research.
2 . Ch a lle n ge s of Re se a r ch w it h Re m ot e Com m u n it ie s a n d Br oa dba n d
Com m u n ica t ion Solu t ion s
The high cost s and considerable t im e required t o do research wit h rem ot e First Nat ions com m unit ies is well- known by researchers working in t his area. I n a 2000 report by a federal t ask force report ing t o SSHRC and NSERC, t he consequences of t he high cost s of nort hern research were highlight ed. The report not ed t hat in t he previous t hree years, t he cost of airfares and freight t ransport t o nort hern com m unit ies had doubled. The cost of food and lodging in rem ot e nort hern com m unit ies is at least 30% higher t han in t he sout hern com m unit ies where m ost Canadians live. Unexpect ed cost s relat ed t o t ravel in nort hern com m unit ies can be prohibit ive – t he report cit es t he exam ple of $1,000 per hour for Twin Ot t er ( sm all plane) support ( Task Force on Nort hern Research, 2000) .
According t o t he SSHRC and NSERC t ask force, t he high cost s of doing nort hern research have caused som e researchers t o abandon t heir research. When t he report was writ t en in 2000, SSHRC and NSERC, t he principal sources of funding for nort hern research, did not cover all t he cost s of doing nort hern research and ot her sources of funding were difficult t o find. Overall, t he level of resources required t o build and m aint ain good research
part nerships wit h nort hern rem ot e com m unit ies was not available t o researchers. The report concluded t hat : “ The cost s and effort required t o prom ot e and undert ake nort hern research are significant and can present a serious barrier t o creat ing t he necessary part nerships am ong t he different st akeholders involved” ( Task Force on Nort hern Research, 2000: 16) . While t he sit uat ion has im proved som ewhat in recent years wit h special SSHRC and NSERC funding t arget ing nort hern research, t he realit y is t hat research wit h rem ot e First Nat ion com m unit ies rem ains a cost ly and t im e- consum ing vent ure; as a consequence few researchers are working in t his area.
At t he sam e t im e t hat research wit h rem ot e com m unit ies was becom ing m ore cost ly, new m edia were em erging t hat opened new possibilit ies for com m unicat ing wit h rem ot e com m unit ies. For alm ost t wo decades, researchers have been using broadband net works and t he I nt ernet t o conduct social science research. The m et hodologies have focused alm ost exclusively on digit al t ext com m unicat ions – using em ail, discussion list servs and chat room s. Widely cit ed books and art icles about online research include Couper ( 2000) , Jones ( 1999) and Mann & St ewart ( 2000) . These publicat ions provide how- t o inform at ion for researchers int erest ed in using t ext - based com m unicat ion on t he I nt ernet t o collect dat a from people.
More recent ly, t he increased penet rat ion of broadband net works has m ade it possible for researchers t o com m unicat e and conduct t heir research using richer form s of dat a exchange. The use of videoconferencing – real- t im e exchange of audio and video dat a over broadband net works – has increased significant ly in t he last few years. To dat e however, t here has been no published research on how videoconferencing can be used for social science research wit h rem ot e com m unit ies, despit e t he obvious advant ages of using audio visual t echnology com pared t o t ext com m unicat ion for t his purpose.
Rem ot e and rural First Nat ions are current ly using videoconferencing for m any purposes. Despit e significant challenges including lack of adequat e bandwidt h, First Nat ions
com m unit ies and organizat ions have worked wit h governm ent and privat e sect or part ners t o build a significant broadband net work capable of support ing videoconferencing for healt h care, educat ion, and m any ot her com m unit y and sust ainable developm ent act ivit ies
( O’Donnell, Perley, Walm ark, Burt on, Beat on and Sark, 2007; O’Donnell, Perley and Sim m s, 2008; O’Donnell, Beat on and McKelvey, 2008) . These net works can be used t o conduct videoconferencing for dat a collect ion for social science research.
Videoconferencing offers som et hing unique t hat ot her t ypes of digit al com m unicat ion over broadband net works cannot offer. As discussed in our recent paper ( O’Donnell, Beat on and Hancock, 2009) , social science research on videoconferencing began wit h at t em pt s t o underst and why t he visual is an im port ant com ponent of com m unicat ion. One of t he earliest t heories was social presence, developed by a t eam of social psychologist s ( Short , 1976) . According t o t his t heory, videoconferencing is richer in social presence t han ot her non- visual m edia and com m unicat ion channels – such as t elephone conversat ions - because it can convey inform at ion im port ant for good int erpersonal com m unicat ion. More recent research in t his area has highlight ed t hree t hem es t hat m ake up social presence: 1) being t oget her, including co- presence, co- locat ion and m ut ual awareness; 2) psychological involvem ent , including saliency, im m ediacy, int im acy, and m aking oneself known; and 3) behavioural engagem ent , t he im m ediacy behaviours t hrough which social presence is realized ( Ret t ie, 2003) . Ot her recent research argues t hat social presence is facilit at ed by observat ion of visual cues such as facial expressions and body m ovem ent s. Video - wit h it s great er abilit y t o support visual cues, such as facial expression recognit ion - will give people a great er sense of social presence t han audio alone ( Roussel & Gueddana, 2007) .
I n our earlier research, we found t hat t he visual com m unicat ion afforded by
videoconferencing is im port ant t o First Nat ions people ( O’Donnell, Beat on and Hancock, 2009) . I n t hat st udy, all t he int erview part icipant s said t hat having visual com m unicat ion is im port ant when com m unicat ing at a dist ance. They want t o see t he ot her person in a discussion t o ensure t hat people are paying at t ent ion when t hey are speaking. Wit h visual com m unicat ion people t ake t he int eract ions m ore seriously because ot hers are wat ching t hem . Several int erview part icipant s said t he visual com m unicat ion allows t hem t o build or m aint ain relat ionships wit h people t hey cannot m eet in person. According t o t hese
part icipant s, visual com m unicat ion builds t rust .
3 . St u dy Con t e x t a n d Ba ck gr ou n d
The Sioux Lookout dist rict , which consist s of 23 rem ot e First Nat ions com m unit ies across nort hwest ern Ont ario, was chosen as t he scope for t his research ( Appendix I ) . Most
com m unit ies can only be accessed by air. Like t he m aj orit y of Aboriginal people, t he people of t he Sioux Lookout dist rict face serious social issues, such as healt h issues, high
unem ploym ent rat es, and lim it ed access t o healt hcare and t he I nt ernet ( Fiser, Clem ent , & Walm ark, 2006; Nishnawbe Aski Nat ion, 2007; Nort hern Nishnawbe Educat ion Council, 2008) .
Wit h t he arrival of t he Europeans t o Canada, Aboriginal people’s way of life was com plet ely disrupt ed. They gradually lost cont rol of t heir land and in t his process, becam e m ore and m ore disconnect ed wit h m any of t heir sym bols of hist ory and cult ure ( I NAC, 2006) . This hist ory and ongoing racism t owards Aboriginal people have had a harm ful im pact on t he healt h of Aboriginal people t oday, who suffer a significant ly lower healt h st at us t han t he general populat ion ( Nat ional Aboriginal Healt h Organizat ion, 2008; Silverm an, Goodine, Ladouceur, & Quinn, 2001) .
Challenges are also associat ed wit h t he fact t hat m ost Aboriginal com m unit ies are rural, m any being fly- in locat ions only wit h no road access. For inst ance, lim it ed healt h care
resources in t he com m unit ies m ean t hat pat ient s m ust oft en be flown t o t he nearest t own or cit ies t o reach a hospit al, which is cost ly and t im e consum ing ( Fiser et al., 2006) .
For t hese reasons, it is crucial t hat Aboriginal Canadians in rem ot e com m unit ies gain
accurat e, reliable and relevant access t o inform at ion and social serv ices. Because of t he high cost s associat ed wit h t raveling, new m edia, such as videoconferencing, has been used t o provide rem ot e com m unicat ions and services t o com m unit ies t o m inim ize t he need for t ravel.
K- Net ( Kuh- ke- nah Net work) , t he t elecom m unicat ions services depart m ent of Keewayt inook Okim akanak ( KO) , and a part ner in t his research, provides a carrier class broadband
net work, t hat as of 2006 connect ed 40 com m unit ies in nort hern Ont ario, including t he 23 First Nat ions com m unit ies of t he Sioux Lookout dist rict ( Fiser et al., 2006) . This net work allows for t he delivery of affordable broadband services t o rem ot e com m unit ies, including t elehealt h, t ele- educat ion, e- com m erce, and videoconferencing ( I ndust ry Canada, 2006) . There are m any benefit s associat ed wit h providing rem ot e services over videoconference. For inst ance, t elehealt h services reduce t he frequency resident s need t o leave t heir hom e com m unit ies t o get proper m edical at t ent ion, reduce cost s associat ed wit h providing healt h care in rem ot e com m unit ies, and help deliver m ore m edical services t o t he com m unit ies t o help deal wit h widespread healt h issues ( Fiser et al., 2006) . Sim ilar advant ages apply t o ot her t ypes of services provided t o t hese com m unit ies using videoconferencing. One of t hese is allowing for researchers t o collect qualit at ive dat a rem ot ely.
Hist orically, Aboriginal people have been reluct ant t o conduct research wit h non- Aboriginal researchers and have feelings of skept icism and dist rust t owards t hem . Am ong several ot her reasons, t hese views are a result of research being conduct ed by non- Aboriginals t hat are irrelevant t o com m unit y needs and t hat lack respect for Aboriginal cult ure and ways of doing research ( Bennet t , 2004; S. Perley & O'Donnell, 2006; S. Perley & O'Donnell, 2005) . Researchers working in or wit h Aboriginal com m unit ies m ust t herefore choose approaches t o research t hat include m em bers of t he com m unit ies, allowing t hem t o cont ribut e t hroughout t he whole research process. One m odel of research, part icipat ory research, has been recognized as favorable t o Aboriginal research. Part icipat ory research is collaborat ive in nat ure and enables Aboriginal researchers involved in t he research t o voice t heir opinions, share t heir knowledge, and have m ore cont rol over every st ep of t he research process ( Bennet t , 2004; Sm it h, 1999) .
Researchers m ust also choose a m et hodology for gat hering dat a t hat allows part icipant s t o be m ore deeply involved in t he process. This st udy was t herefore conduct ed using a
qualit at ive user- cent ered m et hod for gat hering dat a. Respect ing t he principles of OCAP - Ownership, Cont rol, Access and Possession - is also good pract ice for researchers. Ownership m eans t hat Aboriginal com m unit ies are collect ive owners of t heir cult ural
all aspect s of research t hat m ay im pact t hem in any way. Access refers t o Aboriginal
people’s ent it lem ent t o access t heir inform at ion and t o m ake decisions regarding it s access. Finally, possession provides Aboriginal people wit h a m eans for prot ect ing t heir inform at ion of breech or m isuse ( Schnarch, 2004) . The researcher fully respect ed t hese principles during t his st udy by working in close part nership wit h First Nat ion organizat ions.
The current st udy is part of a graduat e t hesis research conduct ed in collaborat ion wit h t he VideoCom proj ect funded by SSHRC. VideoCom has t hree First Nat ion organizat ions as research part ners, including K- Net and KORI , Keewayt inook Okim akanak.
4 . Th e N ove l Re se a r ch M e t h od: Focu s Gr ou ps by M u lt i- Sit e
Vide ocon fe r e n ce
The larger goal of t he st udy was t o underst and preferences by First Nat ion people for online healt h inform at ion. User preferences of online healt h inform at ion were explored in dept h t hrough focus group discussions. The focus group m et hod was prim arily qualit at ive but also included gat hering som e quant it at ive dat a and was t hus a m ixed- m et hod approach. A select ion of healt h websit es was m ade t o present t o part icipant s and a quest ionnaire was developed t o collect dat a from part icipant s. The quest ionnaire was reviewed by t he First Nat ion research part ners and t est ed during a pilot focus group int erview wit h Aboriginal people from t he dist rict . The focus groups t ook place rem ot ely using m ult i- sit e
videoconferencing t echnology t hus allowing for t he int erviewer and t he part icipant s t o see and hear each ot her in real- t im e during t he sessions despit e t he dist ance.
Part icipant recruit m ent was conduct ed wit h t he help of t he K- Net part ner. Each First Nat ion com m unit y in t he Sioux Lookout dist rict has a Com m unit y Telehealt h Coordinat or ( CTC) who m anages t he t elehealt h operat ions. Because of t heir experience using videoconference and t heir int erest in healt h m at t ers, it was agreed wit h t he part ners t hat t he CTCs would be approached t o part icipat e in rem ot e focus group int erviews for t his research using
videoconference, as part of t heir j ob responsibilit ies. Asking t he CTCs from each com m unit y ensured t hat m ost of t he com m unit ies of t he dist rict were represent ed in t he research. The CTCs were also asked t o invit e ot her m em bers of t heir com m unit y t o part icipat e.
Thirt y part icipant s, bot h fem ale and m ale, were recruit ed. Out of t he 30 part icipant s, 22 part icipant s ret urned t heir quest ionnaire, which allowed t heir dem ographic charact erist ics t o be analyzed. There were m ore fem ale part icipant s t han m ale, wit h 14 fem ale part icipant s and 8 m ale part icipant s. Most part icipant s report ed t hey were from t he Oj i- Cree cult ure; however t here were ot her part icipant s from t he Oj ibway cult ure and as well as t he Cree cult ure. Part icipant s were bet ween t he ages of 20 and 59 and highest educat ion levels ranged from prim ary school t o a bachelor’s degree. Most part icipant s spoke an Aboriginal language eit her as t heir m ot her t ongue or as a second language, while all of t hem spoke English. All 22 part icipant s specified t hat t hey used t he I nt ernet at least once a day and had previously searched for healt h inform at ion online. More t han half of part icipant s ( 59% ) were Com m unit y Telehealt h Coordinat ors ( CTC) . The part icipant s cam e from 14 different First Nat ion com m unit ies in t he Sioux Lookout dist rict .
A st aff m em ber from K- Net t ook care of contact ing all pot ent ial CTCs t o ask for t heir
part icipat ion and schedule t he focus group sessions. During t he focus groups, t he K- Net st aff m em ber in Sioux Lookout ensured t he connect ion bet ween sit es was m ade and coordinat ed t he videoconference. He also ensured t he recording of t he videoconferences. Each CTC had access t o videoconference facilit ies in t heir com m unit ies, m anaged cent rally by K- Net in Sioux Lookout .
The int erviewer had access t o a Nat ional Research Council videoconference facilit y in
Ot t awa. A lapt op was connect ed t o t he videoconference equipm ent , allowing t he int erviewer t o show t he websit es t o t he part icipant s. Speakers were also plugged int o t he lapt op t o im prove t he sound com ing from t he videos shown. During t he videoconference, t he
int erviewer swit ched t he screen view bet ween t he com put er screen and t he cam era t o show t he websit es. The pilot session also served t o t est t he t echnology as well as t he process used for t he int erview, verifying t he qualit y of t he sound and video, and allowing t he int erviewer t o pract ice t he coordinat ion of t he speakers.
During t he focus groups, each sit e could see only t wo of t he ot her sit es at once: t he sit e of t he current speaker and t he sit e of t he last person t o speak or t he sit es of t he last t wo people t o speak. Five focus groups were conduct ed in t ot al. Every part icipant had a print ed copy of t he quest ionnaire on- hand during t he focus group int erviews. These quest ionnaires were sent by em ail t o part icipant s, who were asked t o print t hem . During t he sessions, t he int erviewer began by providing background inform at ion on t he research, providing som e inst ruct ions regarding t he focus group sessions and reading t he consent for part icipat ing in t he st udy.
The int erviewer t hen present ed t he first set of websit es. To prevent t echnical difficult ies and loss of resolut ion due t o t he videoconference, part icipant s were sent t he list of links ahead of t im e for t hem t o view t he websit es on t heir own com put er. I f for what ever reasons
part icipant s could not view t he websit es on t heir own com put er, t he int erviewer also present ed t hem on t he videoconference screen.
Part icipant s were t hen asked t o individually answer som e quest ions on t he print ed
quest ionnaire regarding t heir preferences for t he websit es t hat had j ust been present ed. The int erviewer subsequent ly invit ed part icipant s t o share t heir responses and discuss t heir preferences wit h t he rest of t he group. This process was repeat ed for each set of websit es. The websit es present ed cont ained t ext , im ages, links, and/ or videos.
Part icipant s were t hen asked t o com plet e filling- out t he rem ainder of t he print ed quest ionnaire. Following t his, t hree open- ended quest ions from t he quest ionnaire were asked for group discussions.
Each focus group t ook approxim at ely t wo hours and was com plet ely video recorded. Transcript s of t he video recordings were m ade for analysis. Following t he int erview, part icipant s sent t heir filled- out quest ionnaires t o t he int erviewer via fax. The received quest ionnaires were t hen t ranscribed for analysis. NVivo soft ware was used t o analyze t he dat a from bot h t he quest ionnaires and t he video t ranscript s.
5 . Re su lt s
5 .1 Cost a n d Tim e Sa vin gs of t h is Re se a r ch M e t h od
The m ost significant advant ages t o t his research m et hod were t he considerable cost and t im e savings. No t ravel was necessary t o conduct t he focus groups by eit her t he int erviewer or t he part icipant s. Wit hout t he use of t his m et hod, t he int erviewer would have had t o t ravel t o Sioux Lookout from Ot t awa. A round- t rip from Ot t awa t o Sioux Lookout cost s from $750 t o $1,300 wit h Bearskin Airlines, t he only airline t hat offers connect ions t o Sioux Lookout for flight s depart ing from Ot t awa.
From t here, t o conduct focus groups, all t he part icipant s would have had t o fly t o Sioux Lookout from t heir com m unit ies. Wasaya Airways offers flight s t o and from t he com m unit ies in t he Sioux Lookout dist rict , t o t he except ion of Lac Seul, Slat e Falls and
Mishkeegogom ang. Table 1 ( Appendix I I ) list s t he regular rat e for a round- t rip wit h Wasaya Airways t o Sioux Lookout from each of t he com m unit ies t hat part icipat ed in t his research. The full price for each t rip is m ore t han $500. Bet t er rat es m ay also be available when flight s are booked 10, 7, 3 or 1 day( s) in advance. Considering t he high price of t ravel from t he com m unit ies t o Sioux Lookout , it is realist ic t o believe t hat t he recruit m ent of part icipant s would have been m uch m ore difficult , if not im possible, if t ravelling was required.
On t he ot her hand, t he int erviewer could have t ravelled t o all of t he com m unit ies inst ead of having each part icipant t ravel t o Sioux Lookout . I n t his case, focus groups including
m em bers from different com m unit ies would have been im possible. Table 2 ( Appendix I I ) shows t he flight rat es for one possible rout e t hat can be t aken wit h Wasaya Airways giving t he int erviewer 1- 2 days in each com m unit y ( excluding Lac Seul, Slat e Falls and
Mishkeegogom ang) , for a t rip last ing 18 days. The it inerary was m ade wit h as m uch int er-com m unit y t rips as possible, t hereby m inim izing t rips having t o connect in Sioux Lookout ( Com m unit y X - Sioux Lookout - Com m unit y Y) . This t rip would have been exhaust ing for t he researcher and dependent on good weat her and no flight delays.
Booking flight s in advance reduces t he price significant ly. Considering t hat t he int erviewer could have booked at least 10 days in advance, Wasaya Airways’ lowest rat e for an it inerary t hat includes a visit t o each of t he com m unit ies for 1- 2 days, st art ing in Sioux Lookout , cost s $1,934.10 ( see t able 2) . I ncluding t he cost of t he t rip from Ot t awa t o Sioux Lookout , t he t ot al flight cost s for t his t rip for t he int erviewer would be bet ween $2,700 and $3,200 at t he lowest rat es, wit h m axim um advance booking. This does not include t he cost of hot els and m eals. The average cost of a room for a visit or in a rem ot e First Nat ion com m unit y in t his region is $150 a night . Meals would have t o be self- prepared using food purchased at t he com m unit y Nort hern St ore, which would cost about $50 a day. The m inim um t ot al cost of t his pot ent ial 18- day m arat hon research t rip for one researcher would be $6,300, not including t he cost of st aying in Sioux Lookout and get t ing t o and from t he airport s in Sioux Lookout and each com m unit y.
These num bers show t he subst ant ial savings for bot h t he researcher and t he part icipant s for conduct ing t he int erviews at a dist ance. Aside from t he ongoing cost s for K- Net t o m aint ain t he broadband net works and t he videoconference facilit ies in t he com m unit ies, t here were no ot her cost s for t he int erviewer and t he part icipant s for using t he m ult i- sit e
videoconference m et hod.
The t im e involved for t he int erviews was also considerably less t han t he in- person
alt ernat ive. Each part icipant only had t o t ake t wo hours of t heir t im e t o part icipat e in a focus group. For t he int erviewer, five focus groups were conduct ed of t wo hours each, plus half an hour given for set - up each t im e, m aking a t ot al of 12.5 hours of int erview t im e for t he int erviewer. The focus groups were done over a period of t hree days, wit h t he researcher st aying in her hom e com m unit y of Ot t awa and being able t o conduct her norm al act ivit ies out side of t he focus group t im es. Therefore, t hree days of focus groups com pared t o 18 days of dedicat ed t ravel and focus groups m eans t im e savings of at least 15 days for using t he videoconferencing m et hod inst ead of t ravelling.
5 .2 Ot h e r Adva n t a ge s a n d W h a t W e n t W e ll w it h t h e Re se a r ch M e t h od
I n general, t he use of videoconferencing t o collect qualit at ive dat a for t he purpose of t his research was very successful. This sect ion describes what went well and som e of t he advant ages associat ed wit h t his new research m et hod.
One advant age of t he m et hod we described earlier is t hat it allows a m ixed- m et hod approach, in our case having t he com binat ion of t he group discussion wit h individual responses from t he part icipant s in t he quest ionnaires. This allows t he researcher t o benefit from t he advant ages of face- t o- face int erviews com bined wit h survey dat a. The int erviewer could record qualit at ive det ails t hat would ot herwise be im possible t o record by sim ply using a quest ionnaire. The videoconference let s t he int erviewer see t he part icipant s’ facial
expression and body language, reducing t he chances t hat answers will be m isint erpret ed. Furt herm ore, t he int erviewer can probe for m ore inform at ion if t he answer given by t he part icipant is not clear or is incom plet e. I n addit ion, if t he answers given on t he
quest ionnaires are not clear, t hey can also be com pared t o t he answers given during t he focus group sessions t o clarify.
During t he videoconference, t he int erviewer observed act ive part icipat ion in t he focus groups. This som et im es required som e probing on t he part of t he int erviewer t o encourage discussion; however m ost part icipant s appeared t o be relaxed and m ore eager t o speak aft er t he first quest ion. This was an encouraging result for t his research, considering an init ial concern t hat t he dynam ics of t he focus groups could be affect ed by t he different set t ing and considering t he challenges associat ed wit h conduct ing m ult i- sit e videoconferences.
Even t hough t he showing of web pages cont aining t ext was m ore difficult , t he showing of t he videos worked very well. No t echnical difficult ies were encount ered. Part icipant s could see and hear t he videos perfect ly. This was a result of t horough upfront t est ing of t he
t echnology and m at erial used, including t he qualit y of t he videos t ransm it t ed and t he audio. Despit e t he fact t hat t he int erviewer was not on- sit e t o pick up t he quest ionnaires aft er t he int erviews, a good percent age ( 73% , 22 out of 30) of quest ionnaires was ret urned t o t he int erviewer by fax. The First Nat ion part ners were a great help wit h t his by following up wit h part icipant s who had not yet ret urned t heir quest ionnaires.
Having First Nat ion part ners cont ribut ed significant ly t o t he success of t his dat a collect ion m et hod. The part nership wit h K- Net allowed for t he easy and rapid recruit m ent of First Nat ion part icipant s from t he region chosen as t he scope for t he research. The recruit m ent as well as scheduling of t he focus groups would have ot herwise been m ore difficult and t im e consum ing considering t he dist ance bet ween t he int erviewer in Ot t awa and t he com m unit ies of t he Sioux Lookout dist rict . Also, considering t he reluct ance t hat som e First Nat ions have for engaging in research wit h non- Aboriginal people out side of t heir com m unit ies,
est ablishing t rust from t he people would have been difficult wit hout t he involvem ent of t he part ners or wit hout spending a significant am ount of t im e in t he com m unit ies.
The part nership wit h K- Net provided t he researcher wit h access t o videoconferencing
t echnology and expert ise. Since K- Net offers videoconferencing services t o t he com m unit ies of t he Sioux Lookout dist rict , all part icipant s had t he necessary t echnology t o part icipat e in t he rem ot e focus groups. This cont ribut ed t o t he fact t hat t here were no cost s involved for t he researcher for doing t he videoconferences. I n addit ion, all of t he part icipant s had experience using videoconferencing since t his is how t hey oft en com m unicat e wit h people out side of t heir com m unit ies. This reduced t he risk of part icipant s encount ering t echnical difficult ies. Moreover, t he expert ise of t he part ners in videoconferencing was of great help as
t he int erviewer could concent rat e on t he focus groups t hem selves wit hout worrying about t echnical issues.
Finally, t he part nership wit h t he First Nat ion organizat ions allowed t he researcher t o fully respect t he principles of OCAP. Collaborat ive planning and preparat ion was done wit h t he part ners, all work was reviewed before being finalized and suggest ions and opinions given by t he part ners were respect ed and applied t o t he research. Archives of t he video recordings of t he focus groups were m ade available for fut ure review and analysis on t he proj ect
websit e. The result s of t he research were also shared wit h t he part ners. At t em pt s t o m ake t he result s relevant for t he part icipat ing First Nat ions were m ade t hroughout t he st udy.
5 .3 Lim it s a n d Ch a lle n ge s of t h is N ove l Re se a r ch M e t h od
Conduct ing t he focus groups rem ot ely had several significant advant ages, m ost ly cost and t im e savings. However t his m et hod does have it s challenges and lim it s.
First , conduct ing focus groups rem ot ely could possibly have an im pact on t he dynam ics of t he sessions. Even if t he part icipant s and t he int erviewer could see each ot her on t he videoconference screens, not being physically face- t o- face in t he sam e room m ay influence t he m ood of part icipant s and creat e a different at m osphere t han an in- person focus group. The feelings of closeness and privacy wit h t he group m ight not be as st rong. Also, not seeing every m em ber of t he group at once m eans t hat part icipant s cannot see every person’s react ions and facial expressions when speaking. This can however be accom m odat ed wit h som e videoconferencing t echnology t hat allows for every sit e t o be seen sim ult aneously on a split screen. However, t his m eans t hat every sit e im age will be sm aller, which m ay not work in cert ain sit uat ions, such as when m any sit es are part icipat ing.
I n addit ion, coordinat ion bet ween speakers during videoconferences is m uch m ore difficult t han doing so in- person. As only t he current speaker and t he last person t hat had spoken could be seen on t he screen at once, part icipant s had t o speak up and int errupt if t hey want ed t o add som et hing t o t he conversat ion, inst ead of lift ing t heir hand or giving anot her t ype of signal t o indicat e t hat t hey want ed t o speak. Several part icipant s m ay decide t o speak all at once or som e users m ay t alk less because t hey are not sure when it is t heir t urn t o speak or t hey m ight be afraid t o int errupt som eone. Group discussions could possibly be less act ive in t his case.
The int erviewer worked around t his challenge by ensuring t hat everyone had t heir chance t o speak at t he appropriat e t im es. During a videoconference, it is easier t o get everyone’s input by doing round t ables, where t he int erviewer calls out each part icipant ’s nam e or sit e and allows t hem t o speak. I t is essent ial t o use different t echniques t o accom m odat e every part icipant ’s part icular needs. I nt erviewers should be skilled facilit at ors wit h videoconference experience.
Furt herm ore, in t he case of t his st udy, websit es were present ed t o part icipant s, which increased t he challenges. There is a loss of resolut ion when showing a com put er screen t hrough a videoconference screen. Even t hough t he int erviewer ensured t hat all part icipant s had no t rouble viewing t he Web pages during t he focus groups, t he loss of clarit y of t he websit es on t he video conference screen could influence t he preferences of t he users and t hus t heir responses t o t he research quest ions. I m proved t echnology, such as higher bandwidt h, could resolve t his issue.
The videos were easier t o see t hrough t he videoconference screen, but t he t ext on som e of t he web pages was som et im es t oo sm all and t he size had t o be increased t o allow for
part icipant s t o read. This m eant t hat only a sm all port ion of t he Web page could be seen at once, which forced t he int erviewer t o scroll every few m inut es t o show t he whole page. However, it is im port ant t o not e t hat part icipant s did have t he libert y of viewing websit es on t heir own com put er, if t hey had access t o one, during or aft er t he int erview. This was t he preferred m et hod for cert ain part icipant s, especially when show ing Web pages t hat cont ained t ext .
I n a sm all num ber of cases, som e part icipant s had difficult y opening t he Web pages. The int erviewer and t he videoconference coordinat or worked t o help t hese part icipant s wit h t hese t echnical problem s; however doing so at a dist ance also appeared t o have it s
challenges. For exam ple, in one case it was difficult t o underst and what t he user was doing wrong, as t he int erviewer could not see what t he user was doing and t he user had t rouble com m unicat ing using t echnical t erm s. I n t his case, part icipant s t hat are com fort able using a com put er and t he I nt ernet would have been required.
Dat a collect ion always requires lot s of planning and preparat ion. This was also t rue for t he m et hod used for t his research. This m et hod requires access t o videoconference t echnology, not only for t he researcher but for all t he part icipant s as well. I t also requires som eone t o t ake care of connect ing t he sit es, m aint aining t hose connect ions t hroughout t he whole videoconference, and ensuring t hat no t echnical difficult ies are encount ered. This m et hod t herefore requires a part nership wit h skilled people in videoconferencing. Wit hout t his part nership, researchers would have t o add t he cost s of rent ing videoconference facilit ies t o t heir research expendit ures as well as t he ext ra t im e and effort required t o organize and coordinat e t he videoconferences.
I n addit ion, since int erviews are conduct ed rem ot ely, t he int erviewer m ust ensure t hat all part icipant s have t he necessary m at erial for t he focus groups ahead of t im e. I n t his case, part icipant s had t o have t he print ed quest ionnaire on hand as well a list of links t o Web pages open and ready on t heir com put er. This m at erial was sent t o part icipant s via em ail. Before each focus group session, t he int erviewer verified t hat every part icipant had t he required m at erial ready.
Also, collect ing dat a rem ot ely oft en m eans t hat recruit m ent of part icipant s m ust also be done rem ot ely. I t could be m ore difficult t o reach part icipant s at a dist ance and t o schedule t he focus groups. Again, having research part ners in t he area can be advant ageous and efficient .
Finally, t his st udy was conduct ed wit h part icipant s experienced in videoconferences. Part icipant s were not only accust om ed t o t he t echnology but also fam iliar wit h t he process and were com fort able in front of a video cam era. I n fut ure research, having part icipant s wit h no experience wit h videoconferencing could possibly pose a problem . However, t he help of part ners, especially local part ners, in t his case could significant ly reduce t hat risk as t hey can help wit h t echnical issues and wit h t he coordinat ion of t he speakers.
6 . D iscu ssion a n d Con clu sion s
I n sum m ary, t he dat a collect ion st age of t his st udy went well allowing t o obt ain useful result s while cost and t im e savings were high. The findings of t his research highlight ed t he preferences of online healt h inform at ion for First Nat ions people. The research helped det erm ine t he principles t hat should govern t he concept ion of healt h websit es in t he
Aboriginal cont ext . This knowledge could be useful for healt h com m unicat ion professionals, First Nat ion healt h professionals and policy m akers. Considering t he value of t hese findings, t he use of videoconferencing for dat a collect ion has shown it self t o be a valuable m et hod t o
collect qualit at ive dat a for research in t he Aboriginal cont ext . The im port ant cost and t im e savings also proved t his m et hod t o be even m ore advant ageous.
Out of t he lessons learned, t he m aj or one was t hat part nership wit h researchers from t he rem ot e locat ions in quest ion are crucial t o ensure t he success of t his m et hod, especially for Aboriginal research. This helps wit h t he recruit m ent of t he part icipant s as well as t he
planning and scheduling of t he videoconferences. Furt herm ore, part nership wit h researchers t hat have experience wit h videoconferencing is also essent ial t o ensure t echnical aspect s are t aken care of for set up and during t he videoconferences.
Several opport unit ies for fut ure research have com e out of t his st udy t o expand on t he findings. The m et hodology for dat a collect ion used for t his research could be used in fut ure qualit at ive research wit h different groups, such as ot her cult ural groups, or could be applied t o ot her areas of qualit at ive research, when dist ance is an issue.
Fut ure research could explore how t his m et hod could also be used for quant it at ive research. The quest ionnaire t hat part icipant s filled- out during t he focus groups was part ly used for quant it at ive purposes but as t his st udy was qualit at ive in nat ure, t he sam ple size was lim it ed and t oo sm all for t he result s t o be st at ist ically significant . That said, if a larger group could be m anaged, t his m et hod could be applied in a quant it at ive st udy. Advant ages would include est ablishing t rust by m eet ing, seeing and speaking t o part icipant s over t he
videoconference while t hey fill- in t he quest ionnaire inst ead of sim ply sending t he quest ionnaire by m ail or elect ronically. This also allows for t he int erviewer t o answer quest ions t hat t he part icipant s m ay have concerning t he quest ionnaire.
The lim it s and challenges t o using videoconferencing for dat a collect ion encount ered in t his research could be exam ined in m ore det ail in fut ure st udies t o discover new approaches t hat could help overcom e t he challenges. For inst ance, t he loss of resolut ion when showing a com put er screen over a videoconference screen was m ent ioned as a lim it at ion of t his st udy. An in- dept h look at how t echnology can be used different ly t o im prove t he resolut ion could be looked at .
Fut ure st udies could also explore t he opinions of part icipant s by int erviewing or surveying t hem regarding t heir experiences wit h videoconferencing. The result s of t his could be used t o help discover new ways t o im prove t he m et hod.
Finally, anot her possible fut ure research could be t o repeat t his st udy wit h face- t o- face focus groups, if resources are available, and t o com pare t he findings wit h t he findings from t his st udy. Will t he sam e result s be obt ained if t he int erviewer and part icipant s are present in t he sam e room ? The goal would be t o det erm ine whet her or not videoconferencing has an
influence on t he findings.
7 . Ack n ow le dge m e n t s
The aut hors would like t o t hank t he VideoCom research part ners K- Net and KORI ,
Keewayt inook Okim akanak, t he At lant ic Canada’s First Nat ion Help Desk and t he First Nat ion Educat ion Council. Lyle Johnson, t he videoconferencing bridge coordinat or at K- Net was invaluable t o t his st udy; t he focus groups could not have been conduct ed by m ult i- sit e videoconference wit hout his support and guidance. The VideoCom proj ect is funded by a St andard Research Grant from SSHRC for 2006- 2009 and 2009- 2012.
8 . Re fe r e n ce s
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Appe n dix I – M a p of Siou x Look ou t D ist r ict Fir st N a t ion s in
N or t h w e st e r n On t a r io
Appe n dix I I - Ta ble s
Ta ble 1 : Re gu la r r a t e s for r oun d- t r ip fligh t s t o Sioux Look ou t fr om Siou x Look ou t dist r ict com m u n it ie s
Com m u n it y Fligh t Pr ice ( r e gu la r r a t e , r ou nd t r ip)
Big Trout Lake $598.50
Lac Seul -
Sandy Lake $569.10
Slat e Falls -
Pikangikum $590.10 Mishkeegogom ang -
Nort h Spirit Lake $739.20
Sachigo Lake $690.90
Fort Hope $518.70
Deer Lake $735.00
Keewaywin $655.20 Wunnum in $623.70
Nibinam ik ( Sum m er Beaver) $548.10
Ta ble 2 : Ra t e s for fligh t s for a n 1 8 - da y it in e r a r y t hr ou gh Sioux Look ou t dist r ict com m u n it ie s D a y Com m u n it y Fu ll Pr ice 1 - da y a dva n ce 3 - da y a dva n ce 7 - da y a dva n ce 1 0 - da y a dva n ce 1 – SAT SI OUX LOOKOUT -
DEER LAKE
$372.75 $341.25 $294.00 $246.75 $183.75 3 – MON DEER LAKE -
SANDY LAKE
$150.15 $140.70 $124.95 $109.20 $89.25 4 – TUE SANDY LAKE -
KEEWAYWI N
$112.35 $106.05 $96.60 $87.15 $73.50
5 – WED KEEWAYI N – PI KANGI KUM
$194.25 $179.55 $157.50 $135.45 $106.05 6 – THU PI KANGI KUM -
NORTH SPI RI T LAKE $153.30 $142.80 $127.05 $111.30 $90.30 NORTH SPI RI T LAKE – SI OUX LOOKOUT $364.35 $332.85 $285.60 $238.35 $174.30 7 – FRI SI OUX LOOKOUT - BI G TROUT LAKE $304.50 $280.35 $243.60 $205.80 $156.45 8- SAT BI G TROUT LAKE –
SI OUX LOOKOUT
$294.00 $269.85 $233.10 $195.30 $145.95 9- SUN SI OUX LOOKOUT –
WEAGAMOW * NCL
$281.40 $259.35 $225.75 $192.15 $148.05 11 – TUE WEAGAMOW -
SACHI GO LAKE
$194.25 $179.55 $157.50 $135.45 $106.05 13 – THU SACHI GO LAKE –
SI OUX LOOKOUT
$340.20 $311.85 $267.75 $223.65 $164.85 15 – SAT SI OUX LOOKOUT –
WUNNUMI N $317.10 $291.90 $253.05 $214.20 $161.70 15 – SAT WUNNUMI N - SUMMER BEAVER * NI B $129.15 $121.80 $109.20 $96.60 $80.85
17 – MON SUMMER BEAVER - FORT HOPE
$236.25 $217.35 $189.00 $160.65 $122.85 18 – TUE FORT HOPE -
SI OUX LOOKOUT
$254.10 $234.15 $202.65 $172.20 $130.20 TOTAL $ 3 ,6 9 8 .1 0 $ 3 ,4 0 9 .3 5 $ 2 ,9 6 7 .3 0 $ 2 ,5 2 4 .2 0 $ 1 ,9 3 4 .1 0
