TTV Blog 6 – Making sure to be Inclusive by Bhargav

• Post by: Tim Dela Cruz
• 4:50PM Feb 20, 2021
• No Comment

By: Bhargav Kandlakuti

Participating in the training for the Teens Talk Vaping project has been an enriching experience thus far. The study aims to determine the social influences and consequences that arise from vaping among teens. A common subject of research has been on the health effects that vaping can have, however, there is still much that needs to be discovered pertaining to the reason that this issue occurs — the factors that may encourage or discourage a teen from vaping.  

The focus groups that will be held with various teens across Canada will provide new insight into these reasons, but since these focus groups will occur online there will be many adjustments that need to be made. For example, one necessity is making sure to be inclusive and encourage active participation from the teens. Through the training for the upcoming focus groups, data analysis, etc., I have been able to start developing these strategies as well as improve my understanding of qualitative research. There are many factors to consider when arranging focus groups such as the similarity between participants to either create a diverse focus group or a homogenous focus group which I found interesting. From the various aspects of collecting data to analyzing that data and the basis for qualitative studies, the training has been thorough and engaging.