A focus group is composed of six to nine participants who are brought together to discuss a clearly defined topic. Typically, focus groups are composed of homogeneous people, all representing a particular segment of the population. A focus group session should last about 1-1/2 hours with two hours being the absolute maximum time. A group facilitator keeps the discussion on track by asking a series of open-ended questions meant to stimulate discussion.
Develop a set of questions to provide an overall direction for
the discussion. The questions
should flow from general to specific. Questions should be open-ended,
simple, unbiased, and focused to the issue at hand. The purpose of
the questions is to stimulate discussion. The questions are merely
a guide for the discussion. Undoubtedly the discussion will illicit
more questions and bring up issues that the facilitator will want
to follow-up on.
Identify the types of people who may be able to provide you with
the answers you need. Think about the key population groups that
may have an
interest in the issues being researched. You want to form several
different, separate groups that represent different viewpoints.
The groups can be formed based on several different characteristics:
age, income, gender, race, place of work, place of residency,
unemployed, single mothers, students, retired, education, etc.
Although the groups should have a common background, you should avoid getting people who know each other in the same group. You also want people who will participate in the discussion and freely share their opinions.
Participants can be sent a letter inviting them to participate in the focus group. The letter should state the purpose of the focus group session, who is sponsoring and conducting the session, and what the results will be used for. It should be made clear that individual comments made during the focus group are strictly confidential. They can return a postcard indicating if they will or won't participate in the focus group. A telephone call reminding them of the time and place of the meeting is helpful.
The meeting room should be quiet, comfortable, and free from
outside distractions. Participants should all sit around a table
so they can see each other. The chairs should be comfortable. Light
refreshments can be served if they do not distract from the discussion.
The facilitator is the key to the focus group discussion. The facilitator
must direct the discussion without being a part of it. She/he must have
excellent communication skills. The facilitator must be able to create
a relaxed, informal atmosphere where people feel free to express their
opinions. The facilitator should never express his or her own opinions or
make judgments on the opinions of the participants.
The facilitator should ask a series of open-ended questions from general to specific. The questions should not get in the way of the participants expressing their opinions, experiences, and suggestions. The facilitator should allow the discussion to lead in new directions as long as the topics pertain to the subject of the focus group interview.
All members of the group should be encouraged to participate. One person should not be allowed to dominate the discussion. Some focus groups have participants write their ideas down without consulting others before discussion starts. This eliminates bias and brings out many different viewpoints.
The session should be tape recorded and transcribed after the meeting. Some focus group interviews are conducted with someone taking notes during the meeting. This sometimes inhibits the discussion. The facilitator may make some brief notes as long as they do not protrude into the discussion.
The focus group will generate a lot of information. The task is to code
and summarize the data for analysis and discovery.
The tape recording should be transcribed, omitting the names of the speakers. Type the discussion using a computer word processing program. After the discussion has been carefully typed, read the transcript looking for key words and concepts that reoccur. You'll want to count each instance of a key word or concept. Most word processing programs have a "search and find" feature that will find and count specific words and phrases.
The next step is to group the key words and phrases into several categories. Each category should have from three to ten key words or phrases. All comments should fit into at least one category. Some comments may have several key words that fit into different categories. Key words and phrases should be coded for (1) central theme and (2) general sentiment (positive, negative, neutral, suggestion).
After the key words and phases have been grouped into categories, the interpretation step begins. Central themes and issues will emerge. The relative weight of each theme should be accurately reported.
It is usually desirable in community development work to make a public
presentation of the findings. Background information should be included
in a written report of the findings.
Both quantitative and qualitative results should be reported. Quantitative results are statistical or numerical in nature - - the number of people who mentioned X and the percent of people who think Y. Qualitative results are representative comments from focus group participants. Qualitative results create a vivid picture of the participants' feelings and mood. Comments can usually be directly quoted, making sure that the speaker is not identified. Comments should accurately reflect the views of the focus group with care taken not to bias the findings with unrelated comments.
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