Focus Groups Defined

Penni Stewart: A focus group is, very broadly, a group of people asked to come together to consider a topic or question. Participants are asked to explore an issue, sometimes loosely, sometimes through responding to more focussed questions.

Darla Rhyne: One way to define it is as a method for collecting qualitative data in social research. More informally, what it involves is bringing a small group of people together for a free flowing discussion around topics that are defined by the researcher. It is the notion of focus, you are focussing on research topics of interest to the individual researcher.

Some Common Misconceptions

Darla Rhyne: Because focus group research is a flexible method of collecting information, people sometimes assume that every occasion where a group of people get together and talk is a focus group. For me, the discussion has to be focussed on pre-defined topics of interest for the research at hand, otherwise it is more like a brainstorming session. Another misconception is that a focus group is the same as a series of interviews with ten individual people. If you have ten people sitting around the table, they will discuss the topic and what one person says will spark response and reaction among the other participants. You will get information you would not normally get if you were to interview those ten people separately as individuals.

Penni Stewart: I think that the most common misconception is that it is a very quick way to get individual data. Researchers may be very enthusiastic about the idea of bringing eight people together to focus on an issue assuming that they are getting eight views. This is not the case. Focus groups produce a group product. Each person influences the other. If you want eight different views, you should be interviewing those people separately, not running a focus group.

Where Focus Groups Are Used

Penni Stewart: Many different researchers use focus groups. Most commonly, focus groups are employed in market oriented research. Marketers, advertisers and sponsors want to know consumer preferences or how people feel about the presentation of a product. In social science, the use of focus groups can be traced back to sociologist Robert Merton in the 1940s. Focus groups in sociology have been used to explore substantive questions as well as group processes. A special area of interest has been to examine the dynamics of groups as they address a question. Sciologists have also used focus groups to investigate the parameters of an issue. Often, focus groups are used as exploratory research. They are used to help researchers to think about an issue, to flesh out a problem, that is later investigated through other methods. For example, a researcher might start with focus groups and then move to a survey or start with groups and go on to individual interviews.

Darla Rhyne: Since the mid 1980s, focus groups have been a very popular tool, used by a variety of researchers for a variety of reasons. There are many applications in policy and program evaluation research. Here, focus groups can be a useful tool for needs assessment; for program evaluations, before, during and after implementation; and, for understanding how different groups think about and evaluate policy.In social research, I see two main applications. One is as an adjunct to survey research. You might use focus groups to help you define your research question, to help you decide what items to include in a questionnaire and/or what wording would be appropriate. When you get unexpected or puzzling survey findings, convening some groups to focus on that issue can give insights as to why you are getting those results. And, of course, focus groups are also part of qualitative research. In his 1988 book, Focus Groups as Qualitative Research, David Morgan describes focus groups as having some of the characteristics of both participant observation and a depth interview with an individual informant.

Strengths and Limitations

Darla Rhyne: The advantages of focus group research, in one respect, are the same as the strengths of any qualitative data collection tool. It allows you to generate very rich, detailed information that is set in a particular context. Focus groups are a good tool for letting you understand, from the point of view of the participants, what the phenomena is like; for helping you identify the kinds of dimensions that participants see in a topic; and, how they put those dimensions together. Another real strength is that focus group research can bridge communication gaps by showing one side how the other side thinks about the very same topic or issue. For example, imagine letting teachers hear what students think about a course. Compared to some other data collection methods, let's say, compared to a large telephone survey, focus group research is comparatively inexpensive. It may or may not be quicker to complete. That depends on your topic, how many groups you are doing and how detailed an analysis you need.One limitation is that focus groups are not very efficient for collecting quantitative information. It is a waste of time, money and the researcher's energy to get people together for a discussion if all you want to know is how many times a week do they do something or how strongly they feel about something as measured on a five-point scale. Focus groups seldom generate information that you can generalise to the target population as a whole. This is not unique to focus group research but is a characteristic of much qualitative research. Often, qualitative research generates information that you may be able to generalize to other situations or processes and the intent is not to generalise to a particular population. There is also one procedural limitation. When focus groups are working well there is a kind of synergy, where new dimensions of the topic emerge through group interaction. That means it is very easy for the focus group to veer off topic. I am reminded of a wonderful comment by David Morgan who said something like, "it may be your focus but it is their group". So, procedurally, you need a good moderator to keep the discussion on target.

Aspects of Focus Group Design

Penni Stewart: You need to be very clear that the topic you have chosen is likely to be a good "fit" in terms of group process. Scheduling can be very difficult; getting eight to ten people together is not a small endeavour! Also, it is very important to think about who should be asked to participate in a focus group. If the topic is to focus on issues of "violence against women" is it desirable to have single sex groups or mixed groups of men and women? Should mixed sex groups be compared with same sex groups? How does the topic lend itself to issues of age, ethno/racial composition, etc? All the kinds of cleavages that exist in our society may come into play in the focus group because it involves face to face interaction.

Darla Rhyne: The single most important thing to recognize is that planning for focus group research takes much longer than running the groups themselves. Planning falls into three broad categories. The first is information needs. This is going from the abstract, research topic to quite practical questions. Which topics can I get the group to talk about? How can I ask about this issue? This planning eventually culminates in the discussion outline which either lists the topics or is written out as a fully scripted set of questions. The second important planning category involves the participants. Who is your target population and, based on that, who should you be asking to participate? It's important to be cognizant of any sub-categories in the target population. If the interest is comparing the perspective of men and women, you need to convene groups of women and groups of men and, possibly, mixed groups as well. Other aspects of group design are number and size of groups. How many groups do you need? How many people should be in each group? The third component of planning is practicalities. Convening groups involves scheduling, possible room rentals and dealing with parking and transportation. Focus groups are normally audio-taped and often video-taped as well. This has implications for space, equipment and moderator skills. Traditionally, in market research, focus group participants receive a cash honorarium or incentive. In planning, you need to determine if you are offering an honorarium, if so, how much and where are you going to get the money.

Penni Stewart: Good focus group research depends on good design, attention to procedural issues during data collection and an awareness that the unit of analysis is the group.