Creating a Participatory Arts-Based Online Focus Group: Highlighting the Transition from DocMama to Motherscholar

Abstract

Using Facebook to create a participatory, arts-based online focus group, this study had two primary purposes: (1) to examine how mothers in academia present themselves as they transition from doctoral student mother (“DocMama”) to full time position as motherscholars and (2) to explore the use of a participatory, arts-based online focus group on Facebook to facilitate participant description of experiences and feelings. This study adds both to the research on online research by emphasizing a collaborative nature and art to share experiences, and also to the research about motherscholars, examining the oft overlooked transition from doctoral program to academic career as the first step in the academic ladder (CohenMiller, 2014). The four participants participated through a secret Facebook group to post images and text from geographically disperse locations across the US, Central Asia, and New Zealand. In using an arts-based online format, participants were able to continually add to and adjust their responses to best explain their experiences. Using this online dynamic format provided a useful opportunity for participants to share their experiences across time and space. To analyze the data, I used self-presentation theory (Goffman, 1959) to discover common themes relating to work and family consistent with the literature as well as an unexpected finding regarding the concept of the “ideal” motherscholar. Furthermore, results highlighted the utility of a participatory arts-based online focus group to create a supportive format for ongoing, dynamic communication, interaction, and sharing of experience across geographically distant locations.