Editing Focus group (section)

{{Short description|Group interviewed to analyse opinions}}
{{Redirect|Focus Group}}
[[File:Christ University focus group 6.jpg|thumb|An in-person focus group in progress.]]
{{Educational research}}

A '''focus group''' is a group interview involving a small number (sometimes up to ten) of demographically predefined participants. Their reactions to specific researcher/evaluator-posed questions are studied. Focus groups are used in [[market research]] to better understand people's reactions to products or services or participants' perceptions of shared experiences. The discussions can be guided or open. In market research, focus groups can explore a group's response to a new product or service. As a program evaluation tool, they can elicit lessons learned and recommendations for performance improvement. The idea is for the researcher to understand participants' reactions. If group members are representative of a larger population, those reactions may be expected to reflect the views of that larger population.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/focus+group|title=Definition of FOCUS GROUP|website=www.merriam-webster.com|access-date=9 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504021742/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/focus+group|archive-date=4 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/focus_group|title=focus group - Definition of focus group in US English by Oxford Dictionaries|website=Oxford Dictionaries - English|access-date=9 May 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209044025/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/focus_group|archive-date=9 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=focus+group|title=The American Heritage Dictionary entry: focus group|first=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing|last=Company|website=www.ahdictionary.com|access-date=9 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509164640/https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=focus+group|archive-date=9 May 2018}}</ref> Thus, focus groups constitute a research or evaluation method that researchers organize to collect qualitative data through interactive and directed discussions.<ref name=":32">{{Cite journal|last=Morgan|first=David L.|date=1996|title=Focus Groups|journal=Annual Review of Sociology|volume=22|pages=129–152|issn=0360-0572|jstor=2083427|doi=10.1146/annurev.soc.22.1.129}}</ref>

A focus group is also used by sociologists, psychologists, and researchers in communication studies, education, political science, and public health.<ref name=":32"/> [[Marketers]] can use the information collected from focus groups to obtain insights on a specific product, controversy, or topic.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Calder|first=Bobby J.|date=1977|title=Focus Groups and the Nature of Qualitative Marketing Research|journal=Journal of Marketing Research|volume=14|issue=3|pages=353–364|doi=10.2307/3150774|jstor=3150774}}</ref> U.S. Federal agencies, such as the [[United States Census Bureau|Census Bureau]] for the [[2020 United States census|2020 decennial census]], also use the focus group method for message testing purpose among diverse populations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sha |first=Mandy |date=April 2, 2018 |title=Multilingual Research for Interviewer Doorstep Messages |url=https://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2018/adrm/rsm2018-08.html |journal=Census Working Papers |publisher=[[US Census Bureau]] |issue=RSM2018-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web   |title=2020 Census Quick Idea Platform Testing (QIPT) and Campaign Testing Final Report |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade/2020/planning-management/plan/communications-research/quick-idea-platform-and-campaign-testing-report.html |access-date=2023-11-04 |website=Census.gov}}</ref>

Used in [[qualitative research]], the interviews involve a group of people who are asked about their perceptions, attitudes, opinions, beliefs, and views regarding many different topics (e.g., abortion, political candidates or issues, a shared event, needs assessment). Group members are often free to talk and interact with each other. Instead of a researcher/evaluator asking group members questions individually, focus groups use group interaction to explore and clarify participants' beliefs, opinions, and views. The interactivity of focus groups allows researchers to obtain qualitative data from multiple participants, often making focus groups a relatively expedient, convenient, and efficacious research method.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kitzinger|first=J.|date=1995-07-29|title=Qualitative research. Introducing focus groups.|journal=BMJ: British Medical Journal|volume=311|issue=7000|pages=299–302|doi=10.1136/bmj.311.7000.299|issn=0959-8138|pmc=2550365|pmid=7633241}}</ref> While the focus group is taking place, the facilitator either takes notes and/or records the discussion for later note-taking in order to learn from the group. Researchers/evaluators should select members of the focus group carefully in order to obtain useful information. Focus groups may also include an observer who pays attention to dynamics not expressed in words e.g., body language, people who appear to have something to add but do not speak up.