Focus

Groups

“ A carefully planned discussion designed to obtain

perceptions on a defined area of interest in a
permissive, nonthreatening environment .”
Krueger, 1988. Focus groups: A Practical Guide for
Applied Research, Sage Publications. pg 18.

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Check your focus group IQ!
Answer the following questions. Then check your
responses with answers on the following slides.
1. What makes a focus group
a focus group?
2. Why would I want to use a focus group?
3. Who participates in a focus group?
4. How is a focus group conducted?
5. How many groups are needed?
6. What do you do with all the information that you
get?
Answers and more follow
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1. What makes a focus group
a focus group?
A focus group is actually an interview –
a structured small group interview
It is focused in two ways:
– Select individuals participate who are similar to each other
as determined by the purpose of the study
– The information that is collected is focused on a particular
topic, guided by a set of focused questions.
• Questions are predetermined and sequenced, often
moving from general to more specific questions

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What a focus group is not…
• A nominal group or
Delphi process that seeks
to build consensus
• A community forum
• A legal hearing or public testimony
• A panel discussion about a topic or issue
• A study group

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2. Why would I want to use a focus
group?
• To understand what youth think, their needs,
motivations, attitudes, values
• To understand the logic and rational
surrounding their decisions
• To better understand what youth or
volunteers experience during a program
• To capture the synergy of ‘group talk’
• To collect more in-depth information and
understanding
More
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• To collect better information from young
children or when a written survey is not
appropriate
– Example: As part of an after-school program evaluation, we
conducted focus groups with children in grades 2 and 3.
They are not shy at this age and with a friendly opener (like
sharing popcorn or a snack), they were very conversant and
open.
• To obtain information or gain understanding
in order to write better questions for
standardized data collection

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When not to use focus groups

• When you want to generalize

to a larger group or population
• When statistical answers are needed
• When the topic is so controversial that people
don’t listen to each other
• When the topic is sensitive and more appropriate
for an individual interview
• When you cannot control who participates

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Cautions and limitations
• They look easy to do but they require skill to be
successful
• Some topics aren’t appropriate for group discussion
• Confidentiality can be a concern
• Group dynamics and group pressure can interfere
• People may say what they think is socially or politically
right ; particularly with youth who may be accustomed
to giving adults the “right” answers
• Data cannot/should not be generalized

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3. Who participates in a focus group?

• 5-8 people per group

• Individuals with
common
characteristics that
relate to the topic
being discussed

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Selecting Participants
• Be thoughtful and deliberate about who you invite
• Use a recruiting strategy: take nominations, use a
list (membership, affiliation, participation list);
piggyback onto another event
– As appropriate, develop a pool of eligible
participants and then randomly select from that
pool
• Personalize the invitation
• Consider incentives

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Incentives for participants
• Food
• Positive, personal invitation that communicates the
importance of the focus group and their participation
“Your ideas will help…”
“We want to hear from you.”
• Convenient location
• Money
• Gifts; gift certificates
• Provide child care
• Think about the cultural appropriateness of incentives.

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4. How is a focus group conducted?
Steps in a successful focus group
• Planning the study
• Selecting participants carefully
• Moderating the group skillfully
• Capturing the data
• Asking quality questions
• Using appropriate analysis

- Richard A. Krueger, March 2009 workshop

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Planning the focus group study
• Be clear about your purpose
• Identify “information rich” participants
• Plan enough focus groups
• Identify convenient locations and times
• Seek insight from others about improving the plan
• Think about how you will create a non-threatening
environment

- Richard A. Krueger, March 2009 workshop

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Moderating the Focus Group: Moderator skills
• Be mentally prepared
• Establish rapport – welcome people
• Maintain an open and non-threatening environment
• Use the standard introduction
• Facilitate the group – ensure all participate without
domination by some
• Use pauses and probes to obtain information
• Hold opinions; avoids answering questions
• Control any type of reactions to participants or what is
being said
• Stay on time and on topic

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An assistant moderator can help
• Takes responsibility for equipment, refreshments,
room arrangement
• Welcomes participants
• Takes notes and operates equipment
• Does not participate in the discussion
• May ask for clarification of discussion
• May present a summary of key points at the end
for group feedback
• Debriefs with moderator
• Assists with analysis

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Beginning the Focus Group
• The first few moments are critical
– Create a thoughtful, permissive atmosphere
– Build rapport
– Set the tone
• Standard introduction:
– Welcome
– Overview and purpose
– Procedures
– Ground rules
For script of an introduction, see other materials on
the web site.

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Asking good questions

• Carefully develop and test the questions in advance

• Use open-ended questions
• Limited the number of questions (10 or less)
• Avoid asking ‘why’ questions
• Use probes and dig deeper
• Use “think back” questions
• Have concluding questions

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Concluding questions
• Summary question
"Is this an adequate summary?"
• All things considered question
Ask participants to reflect on the entire
discussion and then offer their positions
or opinions
• Final question
"Have we missed anything?”

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Capturing the data
Recommendation: use more than one of the following.
An assistant moderator can help.
• Take notes during the conversation
• Use a tape recorder or a video recorder
• Use a flip chart to capture notes
• Record discussion on a laptop computer
• Use your memory
• Immediately, at the end of the focus group meeting,
write down key notes and observations
• Debrief with assistant moderator

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5. How many groups are needed for a
study?
• More than one
• Repeated groups (multiple sessions)
The number “depends”…
Recommendation: Include groups until no
new insights and information are revealed.
Actuality: Time and resources often determine
how many focus group sessions you will
hold. Consider 2-3 at a minimum.

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6. What do you do with all the
information that you get?
• Have a plan for what you will do with the data
before you start the focus groups
• Be systematic
• Apply appropriate qualitative data analysis
procedures (see: Qualitative data analysis
http://learningstore.uwex.edu/pdf/G3658-12.PDF
• Identify recurring themes and patterns
– Highlight commonalities and differences
• Summarize and report across all the sessions

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Summary

• A focus group is a special type of group

discussion
• It requires skill to conduct them well
• Careful planning will yield better results. Give
special attention to:
– Participant selection; recruiting the
participants
– Developing meaningful questions

© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation

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Re-check your focus group IQ!

What did you learn

or have reinforced?
1. What makes a focus group a focus group?
2. Why would I want to use a focus group?
3. How is a focus group conducted?
4. Who participates in a focus group?
5. How many groups are needed?
6. What do you do with all the information that you
get?
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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May we suggest you
read a Journal of
Extension article to
see how a group at
Oregon Extension
used focus groups to
evaluate their youth
development program

Link on the 4-H evaluation

web page or go to
http://www.joe.org/joe/2008december/rb3.php
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A Focus Group web module with
additional resources will be available in
late 2009 at www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande

© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation

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