Focus Group in Qualitative Research

Introduction

Focus groups share many common features with less structured interviews, but there is more to them than merely collecting similar data from many participants at once. A focus group is a group discussion on a particular topic organized for research purposes. This discussion is guided, monitored and recorded by a researcher (sometimes called a moderator or facilitator).

Examples. Students group, Employee group, etc.

A focus group is a common qualitative research technique used by companies for marketing purposes. A focus group is qualitative research because it asks participants for open-ended responses conveying thoughts or feelings. The other prominent research type is quantitative research. A focus group typically consists of a small number of participants, usually around six to 12, from within a company's target market. The consumers are brought together and led through discussions of important company and brand topics by a moderator.

This is more data-driven research that uses surveys or questionnaires to derive numerical-based statistics or percentages. With qualitative research, researchers seek more open and complete perspectives on the brand or product. However, more general interpretations and uses of the research are necessary, since you cannot as easily break down the research into facts.

Focus Group Features

Within a focus group, a moderator poses a series of questions intended to gain insight about the way the group views the brand, product and related images, slogans, concepts or symbols. As a representative sample of consumers targeted by the company, a focus group can offer insights consistent with those shared by the broader target market. Focus group moderators should pose questions in a way that does not lead group members to provide desired responses, but rather honest and insightful responses.

·      Benefits

A focus group is generally more useful when outcomes of research are very unpredictable and the researcher is looking for more open feedback, as opposed to comparisons of potential results as in a quantified research method. A focus group also allows consumers to express clear ideas and share feelings that do not typically come out in a quantified survey or paper test. Because of the open conversation among group members, topics and discussion are more free-flowing and members can use comments from others to stimulate recall.

·      Drawbacks

"Groupthink" is a primary concern with focus groups. When you bring a group of people together to talk about a brand, the tendency exists for influential group members to affect the expressions of others within the group. Additionally, consumers are often more reluctant to express negative ideas in a face-to-face setting than in a more indirect research format when they know the company is conducting research.