The Focus Group Interview - by Dr. Patricia Fusch

The Focus Group Interview

Photo by Stefan Cosma on Unsplash

A focus group interview is a flexible, unstructured dialogue between the members of a group and an experienced facilitator/moderator that meets in a convenient location. The focus group interview is a way to elicit multiple perspectives on a given topic (Packer-Muti, 2010). Many qualitative study designs do not use a focus group interview. However, one could use a focus group interview to reach data saturation if one had a large pool of potential participants to draw from. This would be appropriate if one were already conducting individual interviews with a small number of participants and one would like to get a group perspective about the phenomenon (George, 2013).  For example, after interviewing five senior executive level leaders individually, one could interview 5-8 more senior executive level leaders as a group.  There are individual perspectives that should be explored as well as a group perspective that could also be relevant (Dilshad & Latif, 2013). It is a good strategy to use to gather a great deal of data in a short amount of time (Coule, 2013).

Focus group sessions are typically 90 minutes in length at most; of course, this depends on how dynamic the group is. One might consider hiring an experienced focus group facilitator who can direct the questioning during the session. In that way, one can sit back, take notes, and observe the interactions amongst the participants which can be difficult to do if one is leading the session. Moreover, experienced facilitators know how to mitigate the shaman effect, account for someone bullying others into a consensus opinion, as well as knowing how to avoid allowing one participant to hijack the session (George, 2013).

Challenges for Novice Researchers

There are many good strategies to use when conducting focus groups. It is always a good idea to bring the discussion back to the interview questions if the interview is going off topic.  Some people like to pontificate, as a rule; therefore, an abrupt change back to the interview questions can unsettle them enough so that you can hijack the conversation back to the topic at hand.

Another point to make here would be that one should not be too hasty to change the topic; sometimes one discovers serendipitous information. To be sure, sometimes a wandering conversation is tedious and sometimes new and exciting nuggets of information are presented that can add to the depth of the data that is collected. The challenge is how to ascertain what is superfluous and what is informative.  Perseverance is an important trait to have on hand because some people will do anything they can do avoid answering what they perceive to be a difficult question.

The best strategy to use is to control the environment, if at all possible.  Choose an environment that focus group members are not familiar with so you can take them out of their comfort zone. It is always a good idea to use a neutral setting that is outside the organization.

Member Checking the Focus Group

Member checking is very useful for your study design (Carlson, 2010).  The opportunity to follow-up with participants is not only pertinent to ascertain that the transcript is accurate, but is also critical to ensure one has captured the meaning of the participant’s response (Houghton, Casey, Shaw, & Murphy, 2013). This is especially important if one is studying a group of participants where they use a great deal of insider jargon—the military, law enforcement, kitchen staffs, electricians—just about every subculture/group has its own way of phrasing important concepts (Andraski, Chandler, Powell, Humes, & Wakefield, 2014). Member checking is a great tool and, if one thinks about it, we member check in our daily lives to ensure that we understand the people we are in a conversation with!

Groupthink

Finally, focus groups have limitations pertaining to a propensity for groupthink in that members pressure others to conform to group consensus (Dimitroff, Schmidt & Bond, 2005).  Furthermore, a focus group session that elicits useful information can be dependent on the skills of the facilitator as well as the failure to monitor subgroups with the focus group (Onwuegbuzie et al., 2010).  The limitation mitigated through the employment of a skilled and experienced facilitator (Onwuegbuzie et al., 2010). 

Janis (1972), in his seminal work on group dynamics, coined the word groupthink when referring to dysfunctional groups.  He stated that the word refers to “…when a group strives for unanimity regardless of conflicting evidence which results in group pressure to conform.  Janis illustrated this process by using the Bay of Pigs fiasco, calling it a “hard hearted action by soft-headed groups” (p.12).  Groupthink, he wrote, is the application of influence on others within the group, whereby the group itself puts enormous pressure on its individuals to conform to group standards regardless of moral judgement.  Although seen by some to be dated, due to declining conformity in recent times, nevertheless, current application uses the importance of identifying barriers to change in the workplace. 

Conclusion

A skilled interviewer knows how to mitigate the challenges of conducting a focus group where participants can hijack the data collection process. This is not always something that novice researchers can count on because most students do not have experience interviewing or the experience that they do have interviewing is not related to a research study. That being said, when you are collecting data for your dissertation, you will find that most participants are flattered to be asked to participate in your study and will be more than willing to help you get the data you need. Many novice researchers extrapolate their own concerns and project them onto others, but there are company owners and leaders out there who consider it a part of their civic duty to help others by participating in research--including doctoral students such as yourself. The challenge then becomes keeping the focus group interview on track to gather the data you need as opposed to collecting a great deal of superfluous data that is outside your IRB approval that participants are convinced that you do need despite evidence to the contrary!

Patricia Fusch, Ph.D.

References

Andraski, M. P., Chandler, C., Powell, B., Humes, D., & Wakefield, S. (2014). Bridging the divide: HIV prevention research and black men who have sex with men. American Journal of Public Health, 104, 708-714. Retrieved from http://ajph.aphapublications.org

Carlson, J. A. (2010). Avoiding traps in member checking. The Qualitative Report, 15, 1102–1113. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR15-5/carlson

Coule, T (2013). Theories of knowledge and focus groups in organization and management research. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, 8(2),148-162. doi:10.1108/QROM-09-2011-1006

Dilshad, R. M., & Latif, M. I. (2013).  Focus group interview as a tool for qualitative research: An analysis.  Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences, 33(1), 191-198.  Retrieved from http://www.bzu.edu.pk/

Dimitroff, R. D., Schmidt, L. A. & Bond, T. D. (2005). Organizational behavior and disaster: A study of conflict at NASA. Project Management Journal, 36(2), 28-38. Retrieved from http://www.pmi.org

George, M. (2013, June 20). Teaching focus group interviewing: Benefits and challenges. Teaching Sociology, 41, 257-270. doi:10.1177/0092055X12465295

Houghton, C., Casey, D., Shaw, D., & Murphy, K. (2013). Rigour in qualitative case-study research. Nurse Researcher, 20(4), 12-17. doi:10.7748/nr2013.03.20.4.12.e326

Janis, I. L. (1972). Victims of groupthink: A psychological study of foreign policy decisions and fiascoes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Leech, N. L., & Collins, K. M. T. (2010). Innovative data collection strategies in qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 15, 696-726. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR15-3/onwuegbuzie

Packer-Muti, B. (2010). Conducting a focus group. The Qualitative Report, 15, 1023-1026. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR15-4/packer

ABOUT DR. FUSCH

Dr. Patricia Fusch is adjunct faculty in the College of Doctoral Studies program at Grand Canyon University where she teaches research courses and chairs doctoral committees. Her research focuses on leadership, manufacturing, women in business, ethnographic design, case study design, change management initiatives, focus group facilitation, and organizational development. Her publications can be found in The Qualitative Report, The International Journal of Applied Management and Technology, The International Journal of Business and Management, and in The Journal of Social Change. She can be reached at patricia.fusch@my.gcu.edu.

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RESOURCES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

• Focus Groups: A practical Guide for Applied Research, 5th edition ORDER