QUALITATIVE METHODS
11 Focus Groups
Ana Manzano
Abstract
Focus groups are a qualitative method which consists of a researcher leading a collective conversation with a group of (commonly 4 to 8) people, guided by questions for them to comment on. Focus groups can be a way of involving users and diverse stakeholders’ viewpoints and experiences in the evaluation of a given intervention. They are suitable at different stages of the policy process and for different evaluation approaches, often in combination with other qualitative and/ or quantitative methods.
Keywords: Qualitative methods, focus groups, group interviews, participatory evaluation
I. What does this method consist of?
Focus groups consist of one or more conversations with a group of people assembled for discussion. Focus groups are led by a researcher (and often include an observer), aiming to gain knowledge of different possible outcomes in areas such as selling (marketing), influencing decisions (politics, health behaviour), or assessing the worth of public interventions and policies (monitoring and evaluation). Trained researchers facilitate discussions with a set of unstructured and/or structured questions for the group to comment on. These conversations can be stimulated by prompts such as photos, videos, vignettes, games, etc and by decision-making techniques such as informal voting methods. Focus groups can be conducted in a variety of formats (digital, analogue, virtual) and with participants of similar characteristics of interest (referred to as “homogeneous focus groups”, such as a focus group comprising of teachers) or diverse characteristics (referred to as “heterogeneous focus groups”, such as a focus group comprising of teachers, students and parents).
Focus groups are a primary qualitative research method, belonging to the family of group-based discussion methods. Similar to other qualitative data, there is no agreement in the research methods literature on the optimum number of participants for a focus group or the suitable number of groups. At design stages, it is useful to present focus group sizes in ranges because there are many contingencies that can impact the number of participants attending groups. Some authors favour smaller groups (n=3-5) because they have greater potential to explore complex topics in depth. For example, richer information can be obtained by conducting two groups of four participants than one group of eight participants. Some recommend medium size groups (n=6-8), while others suggest bigger groups (n=6-12) to capture a greater variety of views. The duration of the discussion depends on group size and topic but, as a rule of thumb, 90 minutes are necessary for all discussants to have the chance to express their views. Durations longer than two hours can increase participant burden and will also increase the risk of deterring people from attending in the first place.
Many expressions are used in evaluation to describe group data collection metho