Focus Group Research Overview Focus group research is based on facilitating an organized discussion with a group of individuals selected because they were believed to be representative of some class (e.g. consumers of a product or service category, voters, parents of school children, etc.). Discussion is used to bring out insights and understandings in ways which simple questionnaire items may not be able to tap. Focus group research has long been prominent in marketing studies, in part because market researchers seek to tap emotional and unconscious motivations not amenable to the structured questions of conventional survey research. The interaction among focus group participants brings out differing perspectives through the language that is used by the respondents. People get caught up in the spirit of group discussion and may reveal more than they would in the more formal interview setting. As respondents ask questions of each other, new avenues of exploration are opened. In discussions, multiple meanings are revealed as different respondents interpret topics of discussions in different ways. Interaction is the key to successful focus groups. In an interactive setting, respondents draw each other out, sparking new ideas. The reactions of each person spark ideas in others, and one person may fill in a gap left by others. One may even find a form of collaborative mental work, as respondents build on each other to come to a consensus that no one individual would have articulated on their own. Focus group research vs. group interviewing. In group interviewing a standard survey instrument (questionnaire) is administered to respondents simultaneously. In focus group studies, in contrast, there is no standard instrument, only a topic to be explored through the exchange of group discussion. For instance, a start-up topic question might be, "What are the present satisfactions and dissatisfactions with X and those of Y?" The respondents can have a strong influence on the subtopics which are examined and the insights which are yielded. Where survey research, even group survey research, requires a priori theory or at least a list of subtopics as a guide for selection of items to be included in the survey instrument, there is no a priori theory in focus group research. Focus groups are a method of choice where the dynamics which determine outcomes are not well known and surprises are expected, as in marketing research where focus groups are brought together to react to product concepts or candidate advertisements. Role of the moderator. The role of the focus group moderator is to facilitate, not dominate discussion. The moderator encourages the participation of everyone and seeks to limit the domination of discussion by a few respondents. The moderator may also give prompting questions ("probes") to elicit expansion on interesting subtopics, such as "Give us an example of ...," "Tell us more about that," "Keep talking," or "Can someone summarize what we've been saying." The moderator will generally not ask closed-ended, yes-no questions, such as "Do you prefer X?", instead always using non-directive prompts like "What is your reaction to X?" The moderator may also seek to return conversation to the topic at hand. Finally, the moderator may take notes or record the conversation of the group, though often that role is left to an assistant moderator. The moderator must record not only overt statements, but must also be sensitive to omissions, choice of words. non-verbal communications, expressions of emotion, energy levels, and the roles played by the discussant. Because of the strong role of the moderator, usually the same one is used if there are multiple groups, in an attempt to control for the influence of the moderator. Implementation. A focus group typically has 6-10 participants in each group session. However, examples can be found of both smaller and larger groups. Focus group facilitators usually regard 10-12 participants as becoming unwieldy and counterproductive. It becomes difficult to keep all the participants engaged in the discussion. It is a mistake to do only a single focus group. At least two groups should always be executed. The second group will serve to confirm the findings. The broader and more ambitious the purposes of doing focus group research, the more groups are appropriate. A study of "women's attitudes toward health services" will require many more groups than one on "consumers' preferences for detergent," for instance. Sessions usually last for approximately two hours. The sessions are recorded on audio tape to provide a verbatim transcript for later analysis. On occasion, video taping of the respondents may also be appropriate. Use of follow-up interviews with participants, can be very fruitful. The number of topics explored per session is usually at most three (often just one), with subtopics under each. Sessions are usually held in neutral locations such as formal focus group facilities or hotel meeting rooms. They should not be conducted in the workplace for a study involving employees. Participants are selected using a "screener" which identifies the demogrphic, behavioral and lifestyle characteristics of the potential respondent. Respondet criteria are discussed Participants are informed of the purpose of the focus group study. They participate on a first-name basis, which encourages informality and openness while suggesting greater anonymity. Ice-breaking exercises are often used to start a focus group discussion. One example is the "eyes closed exercise," in which the moderator asks members of the focus group to close their eyes, imagine the last time they were involved with the subject of the study, and to articulate their remembrance of this. This sharing of experiences while eyes are closed is intended to break down formalities and get conversation rolling as respondents feel closer as a result of the sharing experience. Another example of an ice-breaking exercise is to have the respondents draw a cartoon or picture of the best of worst aspects of X, then share their work with the group. A third example is word association, asking respondents quickly and without thinking to finish prompts like "The worst thing about X is ...." or "People who like X tend to be ....". Participants write their answers on a sheet of paper, then share them with the group. Drawbacks of the focus group method include the potentially strong influence, one way or the other, of the discussion moderator; the difficulty of separating individual viewpoints from the collective group viewpoint; and the difficulty of obtaining a representative sample within a small focus group. In a group context, individuals may be less willing to reveal sensitive information because assurance of confidentiality is lost, in spite of the practice of urging participants not to reveal discussions of the group. The focus group method may also have positive or negative effects on the subjects, particularly when members of the group are associated in work or other social contexts. Assumptions Focus groups are not a panacea for tapping "true" feelings. People often do not themselves understand their own motivations and preferences and thus cannot articulate them well. People have complex, even conflicting motivations, which may come together in unpredictable ways given only slightly varying ways of presenting a stimulus. People may give acceptable or politically correct responses in front of peers, and they may act differently in real situations compared with hypothetical ones. They may be aware of the study's sponsorship and tell the researcher what they believe he or she wants to hear. People tend to express views which enhance their own image of themselves, and they also may formulate opinions "on the spot," lacking any real commitment to what they say. And, people lie. When is the focus group approach not recommended? Focus groups are generally a poor choice when quantitative information is desired. For example, when one wants to know the percentage of people who will buy product X or vote for candidate X. The small size of focus groups makes any estimates of quantitative proportions unreliable, even if the members of the focus group are representative of the target population. However, when one sees concensus of opinion over a series of focus groups, while a hard statistical conclusion cannot be drawn, logic would suggest that when the majority of respondents agree on a position, that position is likely to be reflective of the marketplace. Finally, focus group research is a poor choice for predicting future action in settings yet to emerge since focus group respondents will articulate their views in terms of their own present experiences. © Copyright 2006, Jefferson & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.