89 Focus group study | 4 This study impacted the views of the authors concerning the use of portfolios for the support of SRL. Some of the authors (MS, BT, AK) were involved during the development of the portfolio of the GP specialty training in 2010, during which the portfolio was designed to contribute to SRL. However, in the years after implementation questions started to arise regarding the value of the portfolio for the support of SRL. This was one of the reasons to initiate a research project on this matter, of which this study is part. This research project showed that portfolio use for the support of SRL is complicated, as will also become clear in the results of this study. As a consequence, a project group of the GP specialty training of which two authors are part (MH, BT) is considering whether the purposes, design and use of the portfolio should be revised. Design We used a qualitative research design, based on phenomenology. Phenomenology has been defined as ‘an approach to research that seeks to describe the essence of a phenomenon by exploring it from the perspective of those who have experienced it’.45(p91) Considering our observation that portfolio research thus far has not illuminated the experiences, sentiments and reasoning of portfolio users regarding the support of SRL, we considered a phenomenological approach necessary and suitable for this study. During development of the interview guide, moderation of the focus groups and analysis of the transcripts we aimed to adhere to principles of phenomenology, such as transcendental subjectivity and imaginative variation.45 For example, it was decided to not include any questions targeting SRL in the interview guide, as we wanted respondents to share their personal experiences with portfolio use without subjecting them to our theoretical framework (see ‘procedure’ for more information on the interview guide). Data were collected via focus groups, as these are suitable to explore the range of perspectives within and between different stakeholder groups concerning a topic.46 We also selected focus groups because we anticipated that sentiments and cognitions about portfolio use and SRL are often latently present, and focus groups provide respondents with the opportunity to hear views and ideas of others on which they can expand, thereby eliciting implicit or unconsciously present ideas about a topic.47 Procedures The focus groups were conducted between October 2019 and November 2020. In March 2020, data collection was interrupted, as the Netherlands went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At this point five focus groups were carried out at two participating institutes. Since we did not want too much time to pass between different focus groups, we decided to continue with online focus groups. Data collection, by use of videoconferencing, was resumed in August 2020, after consultation with and agreement of the ethical review board.
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