Research Article

Reducing the Impact of Tinnitus on Children and Adolescents’ Lives: A Mixed-Methods Concept Mapping Study

Table 1

Overview of concept mapping stages and participants.

StageDescriptionMethod of participationTinnitus groupClinician groupParticipating research team members

BrainstormingParticipants produced statements in response to the question “What is done to reduce the impact of chronic tinnitus on children’s and adolescents’ lives?”Entered directly into online portal or transcribed during teleconference. No participant chose the face-to-face brainstorming session.ST-Q
Statement pooling and refiningThe participants’ statements were pooled, reviewed, and refined. The research team removed duplicate and irrelevant statements and edited the remaining statements to produce clear, nonidentifiable, and pertinent statements.ST-Q, RB, RE
GroupingParticipants grouped the statements in a manner that made sense to them. The resulting groupings assisted identification of common themes.Directly undertaken in online portal or via post pack1113ST-Q
RatingParticipants rated each statement using a 6-point Likert scale according to degree of benefit associated with each statement: 0 = low degree of benefit, 1 = mildly beneficial, 2 = minor degree of benefit, 3 = moderately beneficial, 4 = significantly beneficial, and 5 = highly beneficial.Directly undertaken in online portal or via post pack1113ST-Q
Data analysis and interpretationA point map was produced from multidimensional scaling. How closely the points were to one another reflected how frequently the participants grouped the statements together. Reliability of the point map was established through calculating a stress index.
Hierarchical cluster analysis produced a cluster map highlighting key concepts. Each cluster represents a concept (Figure 1).
Consistency of the participants’ grouping and rating data was established through calculating split-half reliability tests.
Reliability of the participants’ rating data was established through calculating Cronbach’s alpha.
Cohort comparisons were facilitated through generation of a pattern matching graph.
The cluster map was presented back to the participants and seeking their feedback on the clusters, the cluster names, and their descriptions for external validation
Concept Systems software and SPSSST-Q, RE