In this blog we will talk a little bit about focus group interviews. Now, focus groups interviews are the real unsung heroes of qualitative research, and I hope that by the end of this blog you will be able to appreciate how focus group interviews can positively affect your qualitative research study. But first, we will answer the question: What are focus group interviews?
In this blog we will talk a little bit about focus group interviews. Now, focus groups interviews are the real unsung heroes of qualitative research, and I hope that by the end of this blog you will be able to appreciate how focus group interviews can positively affect your qualitative research study. But first, we will answer the question: What are focus group interviews?
Focus group interviews are interviews you conduct with a team of participants to collect a variety of information. It interviews typically have four to ten participants, with the ideal range being four to eight. Oftentimes with larger focus group interviews, some participants dominate the discussions while others fade into the background. While not ideal in an interview setting, this can provide crucial information for later analysis and interpretation.
Just like with any other type of interview, focus group interviews utilize an interview protocol. In focus group interviews, participants use prompts instead of a list of questions, unlike qualitative researchers. A prompt can be a statement or question you present, then step back and observe the group’s response.
Instead of asking a whole bunch of questions, you let natural conversations emerge based on the prompt and only redirect the conversation back to the topic at hand. You can ask wallflowers for their thoughts, but how the conversation unfolds is beyond your control. Although it may not seem relevant to qualitative researchers, this interview style best reflects real-world interactions.
Need help conducting your analysis? Leverage our 30+ years of experience and low-cost same-day service to make progress on your results today!
Schedule now using the calendar below.
This leads into why you should consider focus group interviews. When we interact with coworkers, strangers, friends, and family, our interactions often influence us. Think about how you act differently around others versus when you’re alone, or how your writing changes when it’s for personal use versus submission. Sometimes we present ourselves in a different light because it may be more socially desirable to do so, or it may cause others to like us more. I’m not trying to create some psychological or existential conversation about ‘being true no matter what.’ This is just one thing that researchers have noticed in comparing individual and group interviews.
This is why this interviews are so under-appreciated. We can observe how people share their thoughts and opinions in a group while seeking approval from others. There is often a conflict that participants try to deal with, which really makes me appreciate this interview type. There are few data collection techniques that recreate real world interactions.
Participant observations are challenging as participants know they’re being observed, affecting natural behavior. Here, a participant balances fitting in, sharing thoughts on the prompt, and ignoring the observation. This leads to authentic responses, providing valuable observational data to analyze beyond the interview transcript.
Focus group interviews give qualitative researchers a TON of data to analyze; they not only generate narrative data, but there is a lot of observational data you can gather as well. You can record who engages in the conversation, who avoids participation, facial expressions, flustered reactions, when participants make concessions, when they ask questions about the prompt, body language, language use, physical responses to language, and other valuable insights.
So now that I have opened your eyes to how amazing focus group interviews are, the question should not be ‘Why Should I Conduct Them?’ Rather, it should be ‘Why Haven’t I Conducted Them Yet?’