Using focus group methodology to adapt measurement scales and explore questions of wellbeing and mental health: the case of Sri Lanka
Context affects research validity. Therefore, in order to reduce any uncertainty about their findings, cross-cultural researchers should use appropriate methodological techniques. Using focus groups to evaluate the quality of standard measures is one such technique.This paper highlights a study composed of six focus groups that was conducted at the Medical Faculty of the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, with the purpose of assessing equivalence of measures of wellbeing and mental health. Each focus group consisted of three males and three females (age range 35-62). A number of limitations in the measures were highlighted over the course of the sessions, and one questionnaire (measuring positive and negative affects) was subsequently dropped due to lack of cross-cultural equivalence.
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