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Using Focus Groups as an Applied Research Tool

by Yvonne Simmons Howze, Superintendent, Missouri School for the Blind

[Editor's Note: This is the last article in a four-part series on leadership that has been published in Howe's Now]

The use of focus groups has been gaining in popularity over the past few years. This increased popularity has been due largely to an effort to find a qualitative way to generate a rich understanding of a topic by having a group of people involved in a discussion, rather than by using a single qualitative method, such as a survey. However, many people do not understand what focus groups are and what they are not; when they should be used, and when they should be avoided. Unless there is a complete understanding of how focus groups can be used, then their real value may be missed.

Focus groups are group interviews. They are a way of listening to people and learning from them. Each focus group is comprised of six to eight participants who have similar interests and backgrounds. A well-trained moderator guides the group interview using a predetermined set of questions. What participants say and discuss during the interview process determines the data to be collected, analyzed and reported. Therefore, careful recruiting of participants is essential.

Conducting a brainstorming session may be an extremely useful exercise in locating just the ''right' mix of focus group participants. Recruiting participants is fairly time-consuming, but a strategy that tends to work well is by making one-to-one contacts by telephone, in person, or through personalized written invitations. In addition to the careful recruiting of participants, other characteristics of focus groups deal with choosing a comfortable space where people can sit in a circle. Also, a permissive environment must be formed because sessions are tape recorded to ensure accuracy of discussion.

Focus groups should be avoided when they imply commitments that cannot be kept or when a topic is not suitable for a particular group. For example, convening a focus group to delve into issues related to governance policies or regulatory guidelines that cannot be changed would probably not be a good use of focus groups. Instead, they should be considered when a friendly and respectful research method is needed to understand gaps between people, complex behaviors and issues of diversity. Also, focus groups can potentially provide excellent results when used in conjunction with a school's continuous improvement efforts, such as a feedback channel from a variety of stakeholders (e.g. parents, students, teachers, etc.).

Focus groups are derived from someone interested in gaining insight into the feelings of people who would be most affected by issues or proposed changes. They do not just happen! Someone will need to determine who will participate in the group; what questions to ask; what participants will yield the most meaningful information on the selected topic, and what mechanisms (e.g. telephone contact, offer of a stipend, etc.) will be used to recruit and influence persons to participate. In a nutshell, someone will need to serve as a coordinator to ensure the focus group is managed properly and that quality information is obtained from the participants. After all, participants will want to know, "What's in it for me (WIIFM)"?

Focus groups are an applied research method, and should not be used when statistical data is required. They are particularly useful for exploration and discovery while getting an in-depth interpretation of a topic or learning more about groups of people who are frequently misunderstood. Focus groups allow participants to explain their thoughts and put them a context related to their personal experiences. Further, focus groups provide interpretive insights into why people feel as they do and how they arrived at those feelings. Therefore, as a qualitative research method, focus groups create a process of sharing and comparing among participants to generate data needed about a topic. Asking the "right" questions can yield powerful information that is key to gleaning useful information from participants during a focus group session. There are eight steps to be considered when forming interview questions for the focus group. These eight steps, described by Krueger (1997), are:

On the one hand, focus groups appear simple: You talk to people and you report what they had to say. On the other hand, focus groups require a structured process to determine who the participants will be; who will be the most appropriate moderator; what predetermined questions will be used; and what will be the systematic analysis and verifiable procedures for reporting. All in all, focus groups are a unique approach to gathering straightforward and commonsense information from a diverse group with a shared vision.

Volume 6, No. 2, April 2000 Contents

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