ABSTRACT
Policymakers are sometimes asked to make family policy without the benefit of well-thought-out policy analyses that look at needs, alternatives, and implications. Often data for policy studies and development are not available. Focus groups are potentially useful to policymakers because they are scientifically respectable; inexpensive, easy, and efficient to conduct; flexible and adaptable in their application; and easy to understand and communicate. Even though focus groups have a lot to recommend them, they are not used as frequently for policy studies and development as they might be. My impression is that many policymakers misunderstand the use of focus groups even when they use them.
