Focus Groups

Focus groups is a confidential group discussion with a trained and skilled moderator using open ended questions that promote interaction and explore participants perspectives and experiences in a structured by relaxed atmosphere designed to generate qualitative data.

Focus Groups:

• Are a qualitative research tool, which yields in-depth descriptions from a small homogeneous sample
• Cover the maximum range of topics
• Provide specific data about participants' perspectives and experiences as a basis of their attitudes and opinions
• Explore participants' experiences in depth
• Explore the personal context within which the participants offer their attitudes and opinions

Why Focus Groups Are Used:

• To gather data about how participants make meaning about a topic of interest (sole source)
• To gather data needed to construct a survey (exploratory)
• To gather data that can be used to help explain the results of a survey (follow-up)

More information on Focus Groups:

Presentation on Focus Groups (part 1)

Presentation on Focus Groups (part 2)