Focus group discussion is perceived to be a costeffective and promising. Among the more specific criteria that could be used to distinguish focus groups from other types ofgroup interviews, both frey and fontana 1989 and khan and manderson 1992 assert that focus groups are more formal. Focus group definition of focus group by merriamwebster. Focus groups law and legal definition uslegal, inc. Focus group interviewing richard krueger 4 beginning the focus group discussion the first few moments in focus group discussion are critical.
A focus group is typically 710 people who are unfamiliar with each other. A focus group is a gathering of deliberately selected people who participate in a facilitated discussion intended to elicit consumer perceptions about a particular topic or area of interest. Focus group definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Held in march, it was one of four focus groups the dot will be conducting to generate interactive and visual training modules for airline and airport employees and contractors. Then a report describing the overall findings should be written. A small group selected from a wider population and sampled, as by open discussion, for its members opinions about or emotional response to a particular. Background on the focus group research method for the purpose of this tutorial, we use the focus groups definition of powell and single 1 p.
Diagrams that help aid understanding of the data can be prepared. This technique allows you to take advantage of some of the benefits of focus groups under specialized conditions including. Decoding requires translating the symbols of writing systems including braille into the spoken words they represent. A critical comparison of offline focus groups, online focus groups and edelphi 368 basis. A focus group is a specially selected group of people who are intended to represent the general public.
What types of people will you want as participants. This publication, introduction to conducting focus groups, is the fifth in a series of guides developed to bring information to this audience about the use of social science tools in their field of work. Carefully planned discussions to understand what people think about certain issueproductservice. A focus group is most effective with 712 participants. It is important to have a note taker to record the focus group feedback. Compare and contrast exercises should be carried out between groups. The method is seen as having some advantages over singleperson. Each participant is chosen after filling in a screener questionnaire, which allows the researcher to ensure a good mix of people represent the target audience for the project. A lot of times, people dont know what they want until you show it. The participants influence each other through their answers. The focus group fg is one of the qualitative research methods to be utilized in the search for answers to such questions. Sometimes it takes listening to the opinions of others in a small and safe group setting before they form thoughts and opinions.
A focus group could be defined as a group of interacting individuals having some common interest or characteristics, brought together by a moderator, who uses the group and its interaction as a way to gain information about a specific or focused issue. One person is the facilitator and the other is the note taker. How to conduct focus groups interaction design foundation. Focus groups are not as appropriate when you want to capture a broad range. Because focus groups are one of the few methods in which data is gathered from a group, it is useful as part of a mixed method approach. He and his wife and two daughters celebrated by going out to dinner that night. They differ from oneonone and group interviews in that they capitalise on communication. Online focus groups as a businesstobusiness research.
It includes tips for conducting focus groups specific to sexual violence to make sure that community stories are gathered effectively. Bradley th is course provides an overview of two types of qualitative data collection methodologies. Introduction and history 3 participants are encouraged to talk to each other instead of answering the moderators questions. Small number of people usually between 4 and 15, but typically 8 brought together with a moderator to focus on a. They have known each other for almost three months, and. Wherever possible, there should be a focus group team. The number of recommended sessions depends on the complexity of the study design and the target samples level of distinctiveness 1821. These discussions should be held in an environment that is nonthreatening and receptive. Public agencies find focus groups an import a n t tool in improving customer serv i c e. This give and take makes focus groups more powerful than oneonone interviews. Pdf the focus group research method has been used in a variety of. Two key components of planning your focus groups include developing the focus group guide and. Focus group definition is a small group of people whose response to something such as a new product or a politicians image is studied to determine the response that can be expected from a larger population. Successful focus groups start with thorough planning.
Depth groups in the ulysses and visions projects under 4. Participants unknown to each other are brought together, in a particular neutral location, for the specific purpose of discussing an issue, or responding to ideas or materials of interest to the client of the research. S u r vey designers use focus groups to pre t e s t their ideas and to interpret the quantitative i n f o r mation obtained from interv i e w i n g. Semistructured interviews and focus groups margaret c. In this case, all respondents are asked to log on at the same time and give their views on a variety of issues throughout that period. Focus groups are not polls but indepth, qualitative interv. In the past 20 years the focus group method has been increasingly used in health care. Focus groups come in numerous shapes and sizes see e. A focus group is a specially selected group of people who are intended to represent the. Focus groups generally utilize convenience sampling. A focus group is a focused discussion group that follows a structured questioning. The focus or object of analysis is the interaction inside the group.
Key themes and ideas from all reports should be brought together. Interacting over the web avoids a significant amount of travel expense. In a brief time the moderator must create a thoughtful, permissive atmosphere, provide ground rules, and set the tone of the discussion. A focus group is a moderated discussion group anywhere from 6 to 10 participants. Focus group is a type of indepth interview accomplished in a group, whose meetings present characteristics defined with respect to the proposal, size, composition, and interview procedures. Best practices in research evaluation what is a focus group. Marketing firms use focus groups to determ i n e how customers respond to new pro d u c t s. Some companies have even set up employee focus groups to learn more about employee motivation. Online focus groups and qualitative research in the social. Prepare report of the individual focus group in a questionbyquestion format. Online focus groups as a businesstobusiness research technique. Although they do no provide a means for developing reliable, generalizable results traditional strong suits of survey research focus groups can be an indispensable aid for research studies, such as to develop hypotheses and test survey questions, or for.
Hence, the moderators primarily aim to facilitate discussion, rather than to direct it. A focus group discussion is a qualitative data collection method that engages 6 to 12 peoplewith shared characteristics pertinent to the specific discussion topicand is led by a trained facilitator. Focus group discussions are frequently used to obtain perspectives and attitudes of people about issues, seek explanations for behavior, triangulate data obtained through other qualitative methods. One of the factors instrumental in limiting the growth of online research techniques has been the view by many research buyers and indeed agencies that eresearch is only suitable within very limited boundaries. Guidelines for conducting a focus group surveys assume that people know how they feel. A growing literature on the setting up and running of focus groups for social. Once all your focus groups are complete its time to do a metaanalysis. The facilitator has the opportunity to immediately follow up on comments made. To ensure that the maximum number of different ideas or reactions have been captured from participants, companies typically hold several focus groups, often in different cities.
Focus groups article about focus groups by the free dictionary. The shared characteristics may relate to a particular problem, livelihoods occupation, age, social group, place of residence, experience of. Group dynamics and focus group research sage research. Focus groups have been used in industrial settings by businesstobusiness marketers. The purpose of the study is to examine insert topic of study. Introduction to conducting focus groups office for coastal. Send invitations, receive rsvps, make arrangements for room. Recommendations for both the number of focus groups and sample size vary. Focus group is a term often applied to a group discussion carried out for market research purposes. This paper introduces focus group methodology, gives advice on group composition, running the groups, and analysing the results. Focus groups synonyms, focus groups pronunciation, focus groups translation, english dictionary definition of focus groups. Focus groups definition of focus groups by medical.
Economy is an important benefit but there are other benefits of focus groups when compared to interviews. The sample for a focus group has individuals with characteristics of the overall population and can contribute to helping the research gain a greater understanding of the topic. Focus groups are a facilitated discussion and work well when the topic can be well scoped. Online focus groups can take place for a defined period of, say, 90 minutes, as with a facetoface focus group.
A key factor in determining the success of focus groups is the composition of the group in terms of the participants age, gender, and product usage. A primary difference between focus group research and other types. Focus group reactions to three definitions of reading as. It typically consists of a facilitator who runs the group, sometimes a cofacilitator or note taker, and 6 to 10 participants. Online focus groups are appropriate for consumer research, business to business research and political research. Designing products by focus groups its really hard to design products by focus groups. This guide is part of the national sexual assault demonstration initiative toolkit on community assessment approaches to support the growth of sexual assault services within multiservice programs. The unit or department at the university of arizona is conducting a program assessment under the supervision of insert responsible party, director, etc. A small group selected from a wider population and sampled, as by open discussion, for its members opinions about or emotional response to a. Focus groups have started to gain popularity in research relating to different social groups and in crosscultural and development research. Focus groups have discussions in which their opinions are recorded as a form of market research. The use of focus groups in social science research focus groups originated in sociology merton and kendall 1946 were primarily used by market researchers in recent years templeton 1987 and are increasingly being used as a research tool in the social sciences.
According to walden 2006 focus groups involve open, indepth discussions with small groups of purposely selected individuals, led by a trained moderatorfacilitator, to explore a predefined topic of shared interest in a nonthreatening, semistructured setting. Mar 11, 2011 recommendations for both the number of focus groups and sample size vary. Small number of people usually between 4 and 15, but typically 8 brought together with a moderator to focus on a specific product or topic. Focus groups have advantages for researchers in the field of health and medicine. Focus group definition and meaning collins english. These authors call a focus group any group of individuals. Focus groups definition of focus groups by medical dictionary. Focus groups definition of focus groups by the free dictionary. Focus group reactions to three definitions of reading definition a reading is decoding and understanding written text. Understanding is determined by the purposes for reading, the context, the nature of the. Focus groups have been used by large corporations to gather the publics opinions regarding their products.
Focus group methods share with other field research an emphasis on discovering unanticipated findings and exploring hidden meanings. Th ese techniques are commonly used in policy research and are applicable to many research questions. Needs assessment focus group toolkit the focus group toolkit is provided so that multiple people can gather input from community members about the issues and concerns facing families and individuals related to health, learning and school readinesseducation, strongfunctioning families, and other critical areas in a consistent manner. Frank, now retired, gets bored, so while his wife watches television, he plays on the computer. Focus groups were originally called focused interviews or group depth interviews. Focus group definition of focus group by the free dictionary. Focus group meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. Introduction to focus groups prepared for student affairs diane saphire. Focus groups article about focus groups by the free. Focus groups definition of focus groups by the free. Focus group fundamentals isu extension store iowa state. A critical comparison of offline focus groups, online. It allows respondents from all over the world to gather, electronically for a more representative sample.
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