Focus

Focus. To perform at a high level, athletes must be fully focused. But what exactly does that word portend? “Focus, although not having an agreed upon definition in the sports psychology world, is used to describe how much attention one is paying, and can include the state of arousal which causes this attention. Focus includes only concentrating on the most important aspects of the game, and blocking out all other distractions”( Cashmore, 2008). Distractions are very common in athletic competitions especially at higher levels, as Kris Eiring, the Director of Clinical and Sports Psychology at the University of Wisconsin Madison acknowledges that “The focus of athletes sometimes strays in competition, Athletes may focus more on beating another…

Focus, according to the Cambridge dictionary, is defined as the central point of attention or interest, or the ability to give all your attention, time, and energy to a particular activity. Having focus will significantly reduce the amount of time you waste each day dealing with distractions. You will have more control over your life and be able to use the time you saved in a more beneficial way. Why is focus important Focus is very important because it has such a significant impact on so…

Learning from the experience of doing a practice focus group, I did a real focus group last Saturday. I reserved a group study room in undergraduate library to conduct my focus group, because we would not get interrupted, and we would also not interfere with other people’s study. The focus group went on smoothly, and I was glad to see the group discussion going pretty well. Additionally, there are still some space for me to improve and moderate a better focus group discussion. My expected…

The ideal number for a focus group is between four to twelve subjects in one session at a time. With a focus group that varies within that size, it allows the moderator to keep control of the discussion. The moderator is someone not part of the research team but leads the discussion in the focus groups and their main purpose is to get people to speak. Sometimes a moderator can follow a systematic and procedural guide. They start the conversation by introducing themselves, explain the…

research method is ‘focus groups’. The study by Slater and Tiggermann (2010), entitled ‘’ ‘Uncool to do sport’: A focus group study of adolescent girls’ reasons for withdrawing from physical activity’’, had the aim of developing a greater understanding of the reasons, adolescent girls give, for why they stop participating in sport and physical activity and the reasons they believe girls don’t participate as much as boys. A sample of 49 South Australian girls between the ages of 13-15 years, from…

Group: WCSU Recreation Department Group Members: Jackie Fernandez, Chris Mathews, Jared Willsey, Lucy Daniels, Allison Oakley Needs Assessment Purpose: Through the needs assessment we will determine how we can increase the physical activity of WCSU students through the understanding of health needs as a campus community by use of the WCSU Recreation facilities. Focus Group Purpose: Through our focus group we will determine the best possible way conduct our project by identifying the mission…

The following tools will be used to document the focus group interview: iPad, EOS Rebel T6, and notepad. The iPad will vocally record the interview using Awesome Voice Recorder. Whereas the EOS Rebel T6 will video record the participants. The video recording will be used for missed observations of non-verbal communication. Finally, the investigator will utilize a notepad for noticeable moments to review and or highlight during transcription and video review analysis. Upon completion of…

This week’s session centred on the characteristics focus group discussions, when it is used and the skills needed by the interviewer during informal discussions. Khan & Manderson (1992) described focus group discussions as a qualitative method in which the facilitator or moderator uses a pre-tested line of questioning to stimulate discussion among the participants on the subject of inquiry. The aim is to understand perceptions and beliefs of a selected population to gain understanding of a…

Procedure At the beginning of each focus group, I introduced myself; provided name badges for the group members; and explained the study’s purpose. After, I described my role as the moderator and how the session would progress. I reminded the participants about the digital audio recorders and that their responses would be assigned pseudonyms to ensure confidentiality. Then, I distributed consent forms and participant questionnaires (see Appendix A) along with pencils to the group. After…

Focus groups interviewing refers to a method in which a number of people are brought together in a control setting, to be interviewed together as a group. For this method to become a successful study, one needs to be able to listen, think, and talk almost at the same time. Focus groups are a good tool for exploratory research, however, as is the case in most studies, these qualitative interviews may later be combined with quantitative techniques in order to gain a deeper understanding of the…