Focus Group Interviews

By Mary Richardson

What is a focus group?

/ A focus group is a qualitative social research method.
The principle underlying focus groups is that each person, however ordinary, is an expert on his or her own experience.
In a sense, a focus group is an interview. It is not a problem-solving session or a decision-making group.
The goal is not for the group to reach a consensus, but rather to encourage the expression of all opinions.

Why use focus groups?

Focus groups draw on the natural human tendency to discuss problems in groups. Focus groups emphasize the value of sharing viewpoints, discussing and resolving issues in groups.

A considerable advantage of the method is that the information given by the participants is self-validated. The group dynamics help bring out the most important topics and maintain a friendly atmosphere.

Focus groups are ideal for carrying out needs assessments, testing intervention possibilities, orienting policies, planning projects and evaluating the perceived impact of projects.

Focus groups are most useful for gaining understanding, not testing a hypothesis.

How do you plan a focus group?

A representative number of groups are recruited, containing between 6 and 12 people with homogeneous characteristics. For example, depending on the theme to be discussed you may compose groups of the same gender (women or men), certain age groups, specific occupations, or people with similar life experiences.

Open discussion is encouraged using a group interview outline on the theme of the study. A summary-analysis is then carried out identifying the key messages given by the participants, as well as the points of convergence and divergence between the groups in the sample.

A successful focus group should respect the following 4 conditions:

  • The participants should belong to a homogeneous category: same social status, age group, level of education and income, and language.
  • The leader should respect group dynamics, while orienting the discussion around the themes in the interview outline.
  • The interview outline should meet the study objectives and be adapted to the study population: simple, clear language, open, non-biased questions.
  • The results should be systematically summarized, and include quantitative data (intergroup comparison and percentages).

A “content saturation” point is usually reached after about 7 to 10 focus groups, that is, no new elements emerge.

For the focus group method to be valid and reliable, it is important that the number of groups be sufficient, the sample be representative, the animation be unbiased and the analysis be objective.

Recruiting participants

How many participants?

  • Each focus group should have no less than 6 participants and no more than 12: 10 participants is ideal. A good idea is to ask 12-15 people to participate to allow for any who cannot come at the last minute.

How many groups?

  • What is important is reaching a content saturation point. The number of groups needed to do so could be between 10 and 150 depending on the magnitude of the research (local or national) and its complexity.

When to carry out focus groups?

  • The main consideration is people’s availability: avoid important events people are likely to be attending, depending on the local context.

Where to carry out focus groups?

  • Try to find a relatively neutral place, i.e. a non-religious, non-political building, in order to avoid being associated with a specific religion or political party. The non-verbal message must be that all opinions are welcome and all participants are on an equal footing.
  • The best place may be a public school, a community association, a municipal building or town hall (provided there are no major political tensions).

How long should the focus group last?

  • Between 1 and 3 hours should be enough, depending on the number of themes to be discussed. For 2 or 3 themes, 1 hour might be sufficient, whereas more than 3 hours is too long and people will get tired.

Should men and women be mixed?

  • It all depends on the cultural context: if women are likely not to talk in the presence of men, or not to express their true opinions or not to contradict what the men say, they should be separate.
  • It also depends on the subject: some subjects may be more sensitive (sexuality, health issues, etc.) and people will feel more comfortable in a homogeneous group.

Who should participate?

  • In order to be representative of the population, the participants should be selected on the basis of age, sex, marital status, education, income, occupation, language, geographical territory, rural or urban concentrations.
  • Add on other criteria depending on the topic of the study.

How to recruit participants

  • Personal contact (by telephone, reference or chance encounters)
  • Network (a number of people act as contact persons and recruit people in their networks).
  • The influence of a community leader who backs the research can be very important.

Should participants be paid?

  • Participants may be paid a small amount, at least to cover their transportation. A snack and drinks could be served after the end of the discussion.


Facilitating a focus group

Greeting participants

  • It is very important to greet participants when they arrive to put them at ease and establish a warm atmosphere.
  • It is best to place chairs in a circle so that there is no subtle hierarchical relationship between people.

Presenting the project

  • Describe the project
  • Emphasize the fact that the focus group is anonymous
  • Explain why the discussion must be recorded

Participants

  • Participants often play different roles within the group: leader, counter-leader, associate leader, associate counter-leader, marginal, peace-keeper or consensus-seeker, passive or shy.

The facilitator’s role

  • The facilitator must create a group dynamic by putting participants at ease.
  • The facilitator leads the discussion and keeps people on topic.
  • He or she must give everyone a chance to speak, cutting off the leader and counter-leader if they take up too much space, and encouraging shy or passive people to express themselves.
  • The facilitator can caricature certain ideas to make participants react and add nuances to their assertions.
  • If the participants hesitate too much or do not discuss, the facilitator may use scenarios and give every participant a role. This technique may in certain cases make it easier for the participants to speak.
  • The facilitator may have to call STOP when the discussion becomes too emotional, summarize the opinions expressed thus far and reorient the discussion with another question.
  • He or she must reformulate questions or sub-questions to encourage participants to speak freely about their experience, especially when no one has anything to say.

Facilitator’s attitudes

  • The facilitator has to act as described above and observe at the same time. He or she must observe non-verbal messages (body language), analyze the emerging group dynamics, and find ways to involve all participants.
  • The facilitator must be open and attentive, not take any position, remain neutral in both words and actions. He or she must direct the discussion without being authoritarian or rigid.
  • He or she must also try to ensure that the focus group is a positive experience of human relations, avoiding interpersonal conflicts and making sure that all individuals feel respected for who they are, whatever their views.