The design of focus groups must be carefully considered in order to obtain the best results. When designing a focus group, consider the following:
- Group composition is one of the most important considerations.
- At minimum, participants need to feel comfortable with one another.
- Content of questions should be tailored to the background of the group.
- Group interaction can be more or less structured:
- More structured: moderator plays a directive role to ensure participants are focused on the research topic – preferable.
- Other considerations include: venue, participant recruitment, consent forms, whether or not to record video…
- If video is not being recorded, a skilled note taker is needed (see moderator guide).
- Ideal size – keep it small – ie. 6-10. See this guide for more details: Elements of a Good Focus Group: From York University
This video from Yale University provides more details on collecting data using focus groups (21.5 minutes):