Advantages enhances learning in both the affective and cognitive domains. Coworkers and friends are more comfortable in voicing views in each others company than on their own with the. However, each of these methods presents different advantages and. Instead of a traditional survey which offers specific question and answer options, the focus group allows participants to speak freely about the ideas presented and offer their opinions in a way that supports what the survey is attempting to discover. When used as a survey method, the focus group approach presents various pros, strengths and benefits, as well as cons, weaknesses and drawbacks. Focus groups are a cheaper means of obtaining information compared to individual interviews. What is the purpose and advantages of focus group interviews. This is because there is no designated leader in the group and the discussions are made natural. Aug 16, 2011 focus group participants are asked questions in an interactive setting and are encouraged to discuss thoughts freely with other participants. This method serves to solicit participants attitudes and perceptions, knowledge and experiences, and. What are the advantages and disadvantages of focus group. Stimulates learners to think about issues and problems.
The open and free discussions typically generate ideas and can provide a wealth of information for the business or organization. The use of focus group in the research design the goal of a focus group is to have the participants understand the topic of interest to the researcher, irrespective of its use, alone or together with other research methods. Focus group methodology, interviews, students, research methods, student experience introduction. During a focus group, a group of individualsusually 612 peopleis brought together in a room to engage in a. Advantages and limitations of focus groups howstuffworks. The shared characteristics may relate to a particular problem, livelihoods occupation, age, social group, place of residence, experience of.
It is an inexpensive and fast method of acquiring valuable data. Group discussion is an important activity in academic, business and administrative spheres. Free and open discussion among the respondents results in generation of new ideas that can be very useful for decisionmaking. The impression is that fg is often adopted without any prior consideration of whether it. Areas of focus outline types of focus group discussions why use fgds how focus group discussions are administered how to analyze data advantages and disadvantages of focus group discussions 3. Semistructured interviews and focus groups margaret c. Some people are more comfortable and talk more openly in group settings natural way some people talk about problems and personal issues in some cultures but culturally dependent. What are the advantages and disadvantages of group. Furthermore, in the tradition of classical clinical research, the group discussions might result in a questionandanswer situation or resemble individual interviews done in group settings colucci, 2007, p. A practical guide to focusgroup research rosanna l. All the ideas may be as unique and better in comparison to individual decision making.
Interactive performance and focus groups with adolescents. This publication, introduction to conducting focus groups, is the fifth in a series of guides developed to bring information to this audience about the use of social science tools in their field of work. Focus groups explicitly use group interaction as part of the method kitzinger 1995. Focus group discussions should be used when you need to understand an issue at a deeper level than you can access with a survey.
We then make a case for using focus groups in schools and also explain when they should not be used. Advantages of conducting a focus group interview are the flexibility in questioning, the encouragement of dialogue and exchange of ideas, the generation of hypotheses, being relatively fast and inexpensive and producing findings in a form that most users fully. Coworkers and friends are more comfortable in voicing views in each others company than on their own with the researcher. What are the advantages and disadvantages of group discussion. Taking focus groups as controlled group discussions, with their hallmark being their interactive nature, and other important features being the public performance aspect, and the moderators constraints and guidance, how can these central features of the methodology be reflected in the. Two approaches to focus group data collection for qualitative.
Accurate information the facetoface involvement of a qualified moderator means that everyone is involved and the conversation. Focus groups are defined as group discussions exploring a. Insights from two decades of application in conservation article pdf available in methods in ecology and evolution 99. Focus groups typically involve a moderatorled group discussion with between eight and 10 people. How to conduct a successful focus group discussion atlan. Depending on the research objective, the focus group can be used alone or in conjunction with other methods. Focus groups are a common qualitative market research technique used by companies and are intended to understand consumer perception about certain topics. Advantages focus group brings interaction between participants highlights their view of the world. The questions and the manner in which the focus group is facilitated will vary based on the type of participants. This paper uses the definition of focus group as a controlled group discussion, on the basis that the group interaction generated through discussion is of prior importance to this methodology. The focus group rooms have a oneway mirror and the observer team sitting in the adjoining room can observe the discussion. Th ese techniques are commonly used in policy research and are applicable to many research questions. A focus group is a kind of qualitative research method which puts a group of people together in a room in order to discuss specific topics.
A focus group lasting more than 90 minutes probably includes too many questions or topics for discussion. The advantages of focus group discussion are as follows. A semistructured focus group guide used as a basis for discussion was developed by the transnational research team, which included seven women academics working from a variety of feminist perspectives. As discussed previously, fg may be considered as much a standalone research method as one used in conjunction with other methods. A focus group discussion is a qualitative data collection method that engages 6 to 12 peoplewith shared characteristics pertinent to the specific discussion topicand is led by a trained facilitator. It generally involves group interviewing in which a small group of usually 8 to 12 people. Many topics related to health disparities are sensitive e. Focus group discussion relies on facilitators or moderators to guide the group s discussion berg, 1989. More information because there is a group of people. Introductith focus groups are group discussions organised to explore a specific set of. The exchange of ideas takes place in a systematic and structured. Advantages and disadvantages of group discussion answers.
A focus group consists of a group of individuals who are asked questions about their opinions and attitudes towards certain products, services, or concepts. We first briefly explain the procedure of the technique and then provide an overview of the different forms of focus group discussion. In this chapter, i will focus on the importance of the focus group method, its history, and its benefits and pitfalls. Focus group interviews nurture different perceptions and points of view and are used to gather. In this case, the idea is to use a small number of exploratory groups, in an initial stage of the research, to guide the construction of the topics of the interview. Figure 1 advantages and disadvantages of the focus group. Focus group discussions can be conducted in a place where 8. Online focus group advantages and disadvantages mrqual.
Bradley th is course provides an overview of two types of qualitative data collection methodologies. Focus groups are a way to discover demographicrelevant information through an interactive group sessions that is run by a facilitator. It is a systematic and purposeful interactive oral process. It is important to have a note taker to record the focus group feedback. Used with all of the above, a focus group is an integral part of gauging public perceptions. Focus group discussions are conducted in a special setting with recording and observing equipment. Inperson focus groups allow an organization to gain valuable insight into how their customers think about various topics, products, services or the brand in general. They are helpful for adding meaning and understanding to existing knowledge, or getting at the why and how of a topic. The term focus group was created by ernest dichter, a famous market expert and psychologist. Focus group learn about different types of focus groups. It can negatively impact the discussion if the facilitator is stopping to write things down.
Focus group discussion is frequently used as a qualitative. The difference between quality data and data with bias depends on how people are screened and the data is treated. The discussion should be conducted in an atmosphere that facilitates the dialogue. Focus group is an important research method, here we list the advantages and disadvantages of such research method. Despite the welldocumented advantages of focus group data collection, modern challenges for qualitative health researchers exist. Online focus groups are done to reach a broader range of participants. The discussions in the focus groups can be kept under control. Advantages, disadvantages, and lessons learned in conducting. The focus group discussion fgd is a rapid assessment, semi. This means that the group may focus on one or few suggested alternatives and spend all the time in evaluating these and may never come up with other ideas, thus limiting the choices. Here the exchange of ideas, thoughts and feelings take place through oral communication. One person is the facilitator and the other is the note taker. Students should learn to understand their own conditions to choose the best research method for their study.
However, such a widespread use of fg seems to have become a fashionable research technique. Focus group discussions generally last from an hour and a half to. A focus group discussion fgd is a qualitative research method and data collection technique in which a selected group of people discusses a given topic or issue indepth, facilitated by a professional, external moderator. The pros and cons of focus groups show that there can be a lot of valuable information gathered from this type of survey method.
Focus group interviews are a qualitative research method that consist of a carefully designed discussion which allows people to express their points of view in a group setting and provide researchers with indicators of program impact. The moderator can bring any changes in order to better facilitate the discussion during the group discussion. Breen faculty of education, university of technology, sydney, australia abstract this article guides readers through the decisions and considerations involved in conducting focusgroup research. Focus groups are a form of qualitative research that is commonly used in product marketing and marketing research, but it is a popular method within sociology as well.
Oct 05, 2017 advantages and disadvantages of focus groups todays market researcher has an embarrassment of tools available to them, yet one research option has stood the test of time the focus group. The focus groups are considered vital as they help the company in providing the feedback for the new things. Pros and cons of classroom group discussions owlcation. In this article, we look at online focus group advantages and disadvantages compared with facetoface focus groups. The focus group fg technique has been recently rediscovered by social scientists. The focus group fg has been actually employed by marketing, and is becoming importanct also in other areas. Well, as a group has a lot of members and they as individuals come from different backgrounds so ultimately they have unique and different ideas and opinions regarding the matter at the hand.
Heong the focus group discussion fgd is a rapid assessment, semi. It has become the subject of important methodological discussions and it is now considered a very innovative research method. Focus group discussion is frequently used as a qualitative approach to. Moderators can greatly impact the outcome of a focus group discussion. Using focus groups in schools sage publications inc. Some of the focus groups advantages are as follows. They provide a wide variety of perceptions, ideas and opinions. International journal of qualitative methods volume 17. Marketing researchers employ a variety of tools, including oneonone interviews, written surveys and polling to track consumer opinion. Advantages, disadvantages, and lessons learned in conducting telephone focus groups to discuss biospecimen research concerns of individuals genetically at risk for cancer abstract advances in telecommunication technology allow biomedical researchers to explore new, inexpensive opportunities for conducting focus group research. Advantages and disadvantages of focus groups in research. Methodological aspects of focus groups in health research.
Provide a broader range of information offer opportunity to seek clarification suggest potential solutions to problems identified deeply understand the phenomena studied. It is led by a moderator interviewer in a loosely structured discussion of various topics of. The first is synchronous, which means realtime or live groups, conducted via video or chat. Group decision making advantages and disadvantages wisestep. Health research funding is increasingly competitive, recruiting healthcare professionals to participate in qualitative health research is challenging due to increasing busyness in clinical environments, vast geographical distances between research sites hinder. Pdf the focus group research method has been used in a variety of settings over.
These could include brands, companies or products as well as finding out different attitudes about a subject or a figure politicians for example. Participants respond and share information through online means. It is an inexpensiveand fast method of acquiring valuable data. The second is asynchronous, which means not in realtime. Wherever possible, there should be a focus group team. Abstract focus group discussion is frequently used as a qualitative approach to. Merton, a sociologist and the associate director of the bureau of applied social research headed the first focus groups in the united states. Following are the main advantages of focus group discussion in research. The decisions made by the group may not always be in accord with the goals and objectives of the organizations. They may, intentionally or inadvertently, inject their. The focus group needs to be appropriate for the type of participants in the group.