Refining focus group interviews: Four Ricoeur-inspired focus areas to cultivate meaningful dialogue in nursing research

Objective
To present a practical, reproducible method for conducting phenomenological-hermeneutic focus group interviews (FGIs) that move beyond data generation toward co-creation of meaning.
Data and Method
Based on Ricoeur’s concepts of dialogue, narrative identity, and threefold mimesis, we introduce four focus areas to refine the frame for FGIs, including:
• Hermeneutic environment – Create openness to interpretation and multiple meanings.
• Narrative sharing – Invite participants to tell their stories in their own words.
• Ethical engagement – Ensure respect, active listening, and equal voice.
• Embrace ambiguity – Accept complexity and conflicting perspectives as integral to meaning-making.
This frame is proposed in studies focusing on the lived experiences of patients and/or healthcare professionals.
Discussion of Method
The approach transforms FGIs into dialogical spaces where poetic narratives evolve collectively. It operationalises Ricoeur’s philosophy into four clear focus areas that researchers can adopt immediately, ensuring rigour and ethical sensitivity.
Results/findings
The four focus areas can frame and enable FGIs to generate rich, multi-voiced narratives that illuminate “being-in-the-world” and inform clinical practice.
Take-home message: Cultivating Ricoeur-inspired FGIs is a practical, powerful way to amplify patient and professional voices, deepen interpretation, and innovate nursing research.