4.2 Strengths and limitations
This study is one of the first studies, to elicit and compare
perspectives of both service users and practitioners on QCancer, a
cancer risk assessment tool designed for symptomatic individuals in
general practice. Individual interviews provided information from
service users and practitioners, while the focus groups facilitated
discussion between practitioners in their respective general practices
and provided rich data through the interactions and prompting of ideas.
Another strength of this study is that, data saturation was realised in
terms of code (no new ideas expressed) and meaning (ideas expressed were
understood).12
Although the study was widely publicised, all the service user
participants were of White British ethnicity. People from ethnic
minority groups may not have participated because of lack of awareness
of the study, language problems affecting their ability to understand
the advertisement, or a lack of interest in participating. People from
minority ethnic groups have been shown to be less likely to participate
in research studies if they lack confidence in their language abilities
or lack understanding of the topic being
researched,13-15 whereas they are more likely to
participate when approached with sensitivity and when they believe the
study will be beneficial.13-16