Focus Groups

The following entry is the one originally submitted by the contributors. The previous version of this entry that appeared in the original printing of the encyclopedia was not the one submitted by the contributors and was mistakenly used by the Publisher. The entry was written by Drs. Efthimios Poulis and Konstantinos Poulis, and the Publisher apologizes for submitting the wrong version of this entry for publication.

Focus groups is a popular qualitative research methodology that engages a number of respondents who are simultaneously involved in the discussion of a topic (or number of topics). Focus groups have been used in a wide range of disciplines such as consumer research, marketing research, human resource studies, and others. They are mainly used during the exploratory phases of a research project, when usually little is known about a specific phenomenon or topic under investigation. They can be utilized also to interpret quantitative data collected in the past, contributing to the better understanding of phenomena in question. In business contexts they can be used to initiate “brainstorming” about new products/services offered and/or practices followed by a provider.

Key role for the success of focus groups is the interaction among participants (i.e., group interaction). The interaction is highly desirable and crucial in case the researcher would like to explore the dynamics of a specific group of respondents regarding a specific issue. Hence, an important decision when setting up the groups of respondents is the selection of either homogeneous or heterogeneous ones. The decision depends on the research question. It is common, though, that researchers usually select respondents who share some common characteristics such as age, lifestyle, or experiences. The advantage of a homogeneous group is that it gives participants a sense of safety expressing their views among peers with a number of similarities, a situation that generally enhances unbiased communication. On the other side, heterogeneous groups can inspire participants in a new way of thinking. Another key characteristic of focus groups is the role of the researcher, who is usually the moderator of the discussion. He/she is responsible [Page 687]for guiding the discussion so as to capture specific topic(s) of particular interest for the focal study. It is important that he/she collect information by making respondents reveal their personal views and by making participants contrast them with these expressed by others in the group.

While internet surveys have become popular because they lower costs, they sacrifice some useful aspects of traditional focus groups, such as face-to-face interaction among participants.

Applying the focus group research methodology, a researcher should usually go through the following steps: