Focus Groups Peter D Mulcahy焦点小组彼得D玛尔卡茜.pptVIP

A seminar on Focus Groups Peter D. Mulcahy Manager of Institute Operations Institute for Survey Research November 17, 2006 Deciding to use Focus Groups Will focus groups serve your purposes? What are the strengths and weaknesses of focus groups? Common uses for focus groups. Do you have the resources you need? Will Focus Groups Serve Your Purposes? Focus groups are a qualitative research method that relies on group discussion and group dynamics to generate data on a topic or topics chosen by the researcher. (This definition is intentionally broad and includes most forms of group interviewing.) Some qualitative techniques are mistakenly called “focus groups.” Focus groups are a means of data collection. Techniques such as support groups or committee meetings, are therefore not focus groups. Focus groups emphasize group interaction. Techniques such as public forums or individual responses, are therefore not focus groups. In a true focus group… …it is YOUR focus. This is a RESEARCHER- constructed forum for gathering data. …but it is THEIR group. It is the participants’ discussions that generate the data. Strengths and Weaknesses of Focus Groups Focus groups have advantages and disadvantages when compared with other data collection techniques. Strengths: Group discussions help the researcher understand not just what people think, but also how and why they think the way they do. Interaction reveals participants’ experiences, feelings and ideas. Interaction also shows the extent and sources of consensus and diversity. Strengths (cont.): Groups create a more natural interaction by allowing participants to play a role in generating the data. Groups are also more flexible due to the open-ended format that allows you to respond to emerging data. Weaknesses: Focus groups lack the representativeness of surveys because of the small purposeful samples. Focus groups lack the conclusiveness of experiments because of the open-ended procedu