The moderator can bring any changes in order to better facilitate the discussion during the group discussion. Disadvantages of focus groups marketing research assignment. Advantages and disadvantages of four interview techniques in qualitative research raymond opdenakker abstract. There can be focus groups for anything product focus groups, service improvement focus groups or merely idea generation. Focus group discussion overseas development institute.
The moderators control the discussion as per his or her experience. In this lesson, youll learn about focus groups, as well as their advantages and disadvantages. It has become the subject of important methodological discussions and it is now considered a very innovative research method. Focus groups as a qualitative method for crosscultural. Advantages and disadvantages of four interview techniques. The basic idea of the focus group method is to generate a discussion on prese. The major advantage of the focus group over questionnaires and structured interviews is that it reveals what is on the respondents mind and not the researchers bryman, 1988. It is important to have a note taker to record the focus group feedback. The goal of todays meeting is to understand if the internal communications and news you currently receive is effective, relevant and valuable to. The terms group discussion and focus group often are used interchangeably. The difference between quality data and data with bias depends on how people are screened and the data is treated. Focus group discussion is frequently used as a qualitative. Nov 30, 2015 disadvantages of focus groups marketing research assignment and online homework help the disadvantages of focus groups may be summarized by the five ms.
Fortytwo focus groups were held across 14 locations within the u. Heong the focus group discussion fgd is a rapid assessment, semi. Th ese techniques are commonly used in policy research and are applicable to many research questions. Focus group discussions are a common qualitative research strategy. In the last two decades, telephone interviewing became more and more com. The focus groups were conducted to solicit information from the aforementioned participants and initiate an openended discussion to voice the benefits and challenges of implementing ict in their respective schools. Participants are typically a group who are similar in some way, such as income, education, or career. A focus group discussion is a qualitative data collection method that engages 6 to 12 peoplewith shared characteristics pertinent to the specific discussion topicand is led by a trained facilitator. Advantages of focus groups focus groups provide some distinct advantages to businesses and researchers.
Areas of focus outline types of focus group discussions why use fgds how focus group discussions are administered how to analyze data advantages and disadvantages of focus group discussions 3. The authors discuss the process, analysis, advantages and disadvantages of this qualitative method. Thus, fg involves the use of indepth group discussions on themes for which. The focus group fg has been actually employed by marketing, and is becoming importanct also in other areas. September 22, 2010, christina, comments off on benefits of focus groups. Parents share their views on local child care programs, and on what could be done to improve them. The cost of a focus group includes a few things paying a moderator, a facility for the sessions, food and supplies. Focus group discussion is led by a facilitator who poses questions and the participants give their thoughts and opinions. A set of openended questions initiates focus group discussions. Survey research survey advantages survey disadvantages telephone survey mail survey onlineemail survey 2. Tfg interviews research staff downloaded the audio recordings as an mp3 file from the. Yesno questions or questions that are too specific can limit discussion and decrease the value of a focus group. In this article, we look at online focus group advantages and disadvantages compared with facetoface focus groups. The respondents are able to talk in their own terms about issues that are of central significance to them rather than respon.
The group of participants is guided by a moderator or group facilitator who introduces topics for discussion and helps the group to. Wherever possible, there should be a focus group team. Group discussion is an important activity in academic, business and administrative spheres. Tbe bulk of tbese sessions were conducted by tbe autbor, otbers were mn by colleagues on tbe project. A great moderator of focus groups can understand people and their nonconscious body cues.
Focus groups typically involve a moderatorled group discussion with between eight and 10 people. Paying someone outside of the organization to moderate the focus group can provide the most objective results but can be a financial investment. Focus group discussion focus group is a structured discussion with the purpose of stimulating conversation around a specific topic. However, each of these methods presents different advantages and. A trained focus group moderator will charge a fee for her services. Focus groups are often portrayed as heartless in fiction, but in real life they remain a useful feedback method. The interview guide sets the agenda for the focus group discussion by establishing the research questions to be addressed in the focus group. Focus group discussion gives us the possibility to cross check one individuals. We take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of focus groups below. Some scholars, however, relate the term group discussion to a more genuine understanding of qualitative research, whereas the term focus group then is used for structured standardized discussions with a group of participants. Effect of group work on efl students attitudes and.
Two approaches to focus group data collection for qualitative. Socioeconomic differences, educational levels, and other distinguishing characteristics that could potentially skew the data are removed because everyone becomes an equal contributor to the group. Results can be easier to understand than complicated statistical data. Group discussions an overview sciencedirect topics. My own preference morgan, 1996 is for a more inclusive approach that broadly defines focus groups as a research technique that collects data through group interaction on a topic determined by the researcher. One could argue that msn messenger and telephone interviews are characterised by synchronous communication in cyberspace. Information produced by focus group discussion 8 9. Todays market researcher has an embarrassment of tools available to them, yet one research option has stood the test of time the focus group. Relocation of congolese refugees in lunda norte, angola unhcr 19, july, 2017 3 breakdown by sex and age group of focus group discussion participants. Focus group discussions generally last from an hour and a half to. Focus groups can give you both a broad and indepth overview of reactions to the product. What are the advantages and disadvantages of focus group. Despite the welldocumented advantages of focus group data collection, modern challenges for qualitative health researchers exist.
Health research funding is increasingly competitive, recruiting healthcare professionals to participate in qualitative health research is challenging due to increasing busyness in clinical environments, vast geographical distances between research sites. Free and open discussion among the respondents results in generation of new ideas that can be very useful for decisionmaking. Facetoface interviews have long been the dominant interview technique in the field of qualitative research. Focus groups overview the focus group is an exploratory research method used to help researchers gather in. Research and research methods population sampling confidence level types of samples nonprobability samples determining random sample size. Focus group discussion is frequently used as a qualitative approach to gain an indepth understanding of social issues. A copy of the focus group questions is provided in appendix a.
The first is synchronous, which means realtime or live groups, conducted via video or chat. Used with all of the above, a focus group is an integral part of gauging public perceptions. It can negatively impact the discussion if the facilitator is stopping to write things down. Discussions in the focus groups can enable clarification of issues and enable views to be both challenged as well as accepted.
The pros and cons of focus groups show that there can be a lot of valuable information gathered from this type of survey method. Focus group implies a group discussion in order to identify perceptions, thoughts and impressions of a. The shared characteristics may relate to a particular problem, livelihoods occupation, age, social group, place of residence, experience of. A qualitative framework for collecting and analyzing data.
Many businesses are unaware of the kinds of benefits using focus groups can have. The impression is that fg is often adopted without any prior consideration of whether it. A comparison between focus group and indepth interview zaharia rodica milena bucharest university of eonomics, romania, faculty of international business and economics. Download limit exceeded you have exceeded your daily download allowance. The second is asynchronous, which means not in realtime. This brief includes a basic overview of focus groups. Data collection instruments questionnaire and interview. And thats why i thought at the beginning it will be difficult with a focus group and an open discussion. The key is the interaction between the group members. There are however issues with focus groups that people should be aware of. Benefits and challenges of information and communication.
Focus groups typically involve a moderatorled group discussion with. Methodological aspects of focus groups in health research. We conclude that focus groupsare not a quick and easy methodof collecting. This paper uses the definition of focus group as a controlled group discussion, on the basis that the group interaction generated through discussion is of prior importance to this methodology. So, above are some of the advantages of the focus groups. Focus group brings interaction between participants highlights their view of the world. Focus groups use peoples voices as part of a research methodology which affects the power relationships between the researcher and the participant. These proposed approaches to focus group data collection yielded strong participation rates, rich qualitative data, and cost savings.
Marketing researchers employ a variety of tools, including oneonone interviews, written surveys and polling to track consumer opinion. Eacb group consisted of, on average, 6 researcb participants and tbe discussion lasted approximately 2 bours and was taperecorded. It is used to learn about opinions on a designated topic, and to guide future action. As cyberspace is defined as the noplace morse, 1998, communication in a virtual place brings. Areas of focus outline types of focus group discussions why use fgds how focus group discussions are administered how to analyze data advantages and disadvantages of focus group discussions. The focus group fg technique has been recently rediscovered by social scientists. The focus group is the collaboration of people who come together to make an opinion.
Depending on the research objective, the focus group can be used alone or in conjunction with other methods. Depending on the research objective, the focus group can. Advantages and disadvantages of four interview techniques in qualitative research place. Advantages and disadvantages the research in management, especially in marketing, frequently considers focus group and other qualitative methods as exploratory tools, its results needing to be verified by a quantitative study, in a representative sample.
A key issue for researchers is the complex relation of focus group talk to. Focus groups are used in business research all the time. The advantages of focus group discussion are as follows. The researcher can interact with the participants, pose followup questions or ask questions that probe more deeply. Focus groups can be misused and abused by considering the results as conclu. Here the exchange of ideas, thoughts and feelings take place through oral communication. As said the discussions are controlled by the moderator. What are the advantages and disadvantages of focus groups. There are numerous advantages to using this type of exploratory research method. In part to compensate for this lack of experience, a practical manual on conducting. This is advantages and disadvantages of working in groups, section 1. Th e course does not aim to cover all the aspects of interviewing and focus groups, but rather it is designed to provide an overview of these methods, as well as some practical tools.
A critical comparison of offline focus groups, online focus groups and edelphi 366 these. The clients and moderator develop this guide together. Insights from two decades of application in conservation. Students should learn to understand their own conditions to choose the best research method for their study. The primary benefit of using a focus group is that it levels the playing field of a demographic. Definition of a focus group focus group discussions fgds are defined as semi structured group discussions, which yield qualitative data on the community level by facilitating interaction between participants.
Focus groups explicitly use group interaction as part of the method kitzinger 1995. Being able to work face to face with a range of people, of different demographics can give a more real insight into their opinions and help businesses to get to know their customers better. Focus group discussion is frequently used as a qualitative approach to gain an in depth. The exchange of ideas takes place in a systematic and structured. Using and analysing focus groups iq5 natural discussion or artificial performance. Focus group is an important research method, here we list the advantages and disadvantages of such research method. Here are few advantages of focus groups along with few disadvantages. In this chapter, i will focus on the importance of the focus group method, its history, and its benefits and pitfalls. Online focus group advantages and disadvantages mrqual. As group interviews, focus groups not only occupy an intennediate position between these other qualitative methods but also possess a distinctive identity oftheir own. Pdf the focus group research method has been used in a variety of settings over the years. Generate and pretest an interview guide the interview guide sets the agenda for the focus group discussion by establishing the research questions to be addressed in the focus group. A critical comparison of offline focus groups, online focus. The results of the focus group interviews helped us design parent lounges that met the unique needs of parents who often spend days, weeks or even months with a sick child in the hospital.
Now, if you say that one can also interpret a focus group the way we did, partly with very specific questions and these participantgenerated cards, then i think it is indeed possible to answer such questions as well. Focus groups allow businesses to directly engage with their customers. Focus group discussion a focus group discussion fgd is a good way to gather together people from similar backgrounds or experiences to discuss a specific topic of interest. A key market research tool, focus groups are often used in order to gain a better insight into different behaviours and opinions of consumers regarding products, brands and services. Advantages and disadvantages of four interview techniques in. The demand side focus group discussion and key informant interview has been designed and analysis was produced by catherine butcher while the data was collected by waas international pvt. If the focus groups provide advantages, it also provides some of the disadvantages. The questions in a focus group are carefully designed to. Qualitative research methods for the social sciences, 4th ed. Key findings the main findings from data generated by the focus group discussions are summarized below. It is a systematic and purposeful interactive oral process. The two approaches to focus group data collection have methodological contribution to the current evidence base of focus groups in qualitative health services research. In a focus group discussion, the interviewer talks to a group of people about their thoughts, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a topic. Elderly in employing focus groups are described, and their advantages and.
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