Organising focus groups within an organisation can also be very useful in getting buy-in to a project from within that company.
When and why to use focus groups
Focus groups are most often used as an input to design.
Advantages of focus groups include:
- Quick, cheap and relatively easy to assemble
– Good for getting rich data in participants’ own words and developing deeper insights
– People are able to build on one another’s responses and come up with ideas they might not have thought of in a 1-on-1 interview
– Good for obtaining data from children and/or people with low levels of literacy
– Provides an opportunity to involve people in data analysis (e.g. “Out of the issues we have talked about, which ones are most important to you?”)
– Participants can act as checks and balances on one another – identifying factual errors or extreme views
Limitations of focus groups include:
- The responses of each participant are not independent
– A few dominant focus group members can skew the session
– Focus groups require a skilled and experienced moderator
– The data which results from a focus group requires skill and experience to analyse
How to plan and prepare for focus groups
Invite around 6 to 8 people to participate for a session to last for about an hour.
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