Focus Groups

Research on interviews has generally shown that standardized procedures are higher in their reliability and validity than unstructured interviews. Learning how structured

Each of 30 interviewers was asked to recruit 14 subjects (convenience sample of 7 males and 7 females aged between 18 and 80 years old)

Flexible and inexpensive, focus groups consist of six to ten participants (Hartman, 2004, p. 408). Additionally, a moderator guides the discussion among its panel members that allows researchers to observe real-time verbal responses and nonverbal cues (Hartman, 2004, p. 402; Cooper & Schindler, 2014, p. 160). Focus groups moderators also have the ability to introduce new ideas to gain a greater understanding of concerns from respondents (Hartman, 2004, p. 402). However, a concern with focus group is the lack of anonymity due to the face-to-face participation.

This article represents a focus group type of qualitative research. According to Qualitative Research Consultants Association (2015), in focus group qualitative research, a group of individuals who share a need, life circumstance, or habit relevant to the research issue(s) at hand are led in a discussion by a modulator. The focus group discussions often include between two to ten respondents, and are often held face to face. They can also be conducted remotely through videoconferencing, teleconferencing, or

In order to gather a lot of data, a focus group is recommended. According to Howitt D. (2013), an optimal focus group consists of six to ten participants (Howitt, 2013; Morgan, 1997). The fact that an experienced interviewer conducted the interview led to good control and desired data(Morgan, 1996). Furthermore, a thematic analysis provided a systematic overview of the results.

Group work also helps researchers tap into the many different forms of communication that people use in day-to-day interaction, including jokes, anecdote, teasing, and arguing. Gaining access to such variety of communication is useful because people 's knowledge and attitudes are not entirely encapsulated in reasoned responses to direct questions. Everyday forms of communication may tell us as much, if not more, about what people know or experience. In this way focus groups reach the parts that other methods cannot reach, revealing range of understanding that often remain unexploited by more straight data collection techniques.

This paper introduces focus group methodology, gives advice on group composition, running the groups, and analysing the results. Focus groups have advantages for researchers in the field of health and medicine: they do not discriminate against people who cannot read or write and they can encourage participation from people reluctant to be interviewed on their own or who feel they have nothing to say.

Eight to fifteenth participants were in attendance at each focus group. At the start of each focus group participants began by completing a general survey about their socio-demographic, finances, health and wellbeing. A researcher facilitated a series of questions and two UCLA team members took notes and recorded each group. The questions (appendix a) covered topics from overall health, nutrition, budget, savings, debt, and financial security. All the information then was transcribed and analyzed by the UCLA team members. The 3 Spanish focus group was transcribed and interpreted by an outside vendor. While the English focus an UCLA team member transcribed group.

Focus groups are a prominent method of enquiry, regularly used within the field of social science and in particular, qualitative research. The focus group practice involves a number of participants having an open discussion on a specific topic, set by a researcher. The researcher acts as a moderator to aid discussion by using probes to collect desirable data. This process is recorded and transcripts are used to interpret and analyse given information.

A focus group is generally more useful when outcomes of research are very unpredictable and the researcher is looking for more open feedback. Because of the open conversation among group members, topics and discussion are more free-flowing and it helps the researcher to analyze the market trends and consumer need for the particular

A Focus group is defined as a research technique that collects data through a group interaction, on a given topic from the researcher. Along with this definition are some essential components. Firstly, it states that, focus groups are research methods devoted to data collection. Secondly, it signifies the interaction of group discussion as a source of data. Lastly, it acknowledges the active role of researchers in establishing the group discussion in order to collect data (David, 1996.p.130).

produced a waterfall, with many opportunities for respondents to provide rich detail for clients. The "why" question invites a rational, not behavioral, answer; one that begins with "because." A question that starts, "What is the role of . . . " allows respondents to enter the "answer arena" from a number of different directions. Given the constraints of focus group research (two-hour time frames, the need for relatively equal airtime for responses, multiple client issues to cover and the time of day most groups are conducted), it is critical that every question in a focus group be an effective question. It is eminently helpful to explore the factors listed below as

The data were analyzed with the SARA content analysis approach. This approach involves constant comparison, multisource and multipass strategies, and triangulation of data sets for more robust findings (86). Audiotape recordings, researcher observations and intentional debriefings after each focus group were used to document the focus group sessions. The researchers constructed themes and dimensions in an attempt to identify the messages communicated in the focus group sessions. The idea of multipass strategies is to continue data analysis until no new findings or insights emerge. The focus of the study using SARA was on the meaning of the experiences in the words of the participants and not how some researchers use SARA by counting how frequently certain words are used. Validity was based on the collective results of all focus groups and the saturation of common themes and responses.

Jemma, the researcher and focus group moderator, has structured the discussion in the following way: to start with, Jemma provides a frame of reference for the focus group referring to the aim of her research, and summarizes the pre-formulated research questions that serve as openings to obtain such feedback (Nel, Romm, & Tlale, 2015). Focus groups are seen as providing a unique data source, and tend to emphasise their value in exploring participants’ knowledge and experiences and in helping to understand not only what people think, but also why they think the way they do (Greenwood, Ellmers, & Holley, 2014).

To be able to explore different areas of inquiry and have valuable data from my interview I will need to encourage my participant to talk freely and to feel relaxed when responding to my questions (Clough and Nutbrown, 2007). By collecting this data this way I will be addressing my research question (Sim and Wright, 2000).