Brief Description:
Focus groups are when a small group of people are asked a series of open-ended questions on a topic. They are usually recorded.
For more on focus groups and focus group design you can jump ahead to Chapter 3: Collecting data – Focus Groups.
Strengths:
- Allows you to see group opinion formation.
- Permits the observation of non-verbal cues.
- Can offer participants incentive for participation (coffee and doughnuts).
- Participants are fully focused on the research question(s) during the time of the focus group.
- Facilitates the collection of very rich data.
Challenges:
- Some participants may dominate the conversation.
- Transcription may be difficult/time consuming.
- Analysis may be time consuming.