Focus Groups

Focus Groups—This technique is a form of interview, but with a group. It focuses on data generated via observation and communication between and among participants. Denzin and Lincoln stated that Merton et al., coined the term focus group in 1956 to apply to a situation in which the interviewer asks group members very specific questions about a topic after considerable research has already been completed, while Kreuger defined a focus group as a “carefully planned discussion designed to obtain perceptions in a defined area of interest in a permissive, nonthreatening environment.” You, or someone you train, can lead or moderate the group, which usually consists of four to twelve people. The less experienced the interviewer, the more people in the group may be likely to be frustrating or unwieldy; however, the less experienced the interviewer, the fewer people may likely not be encouraged to generate the information needed that a few more in a group could generate.