Focus Group Research

Focus group methods involve bringing together small groups of carefully selected individuals for an in-depth discussion of some topic, guided by a moderator, in order to learn how people think about that topic. Most of us should be familiar with the basic idea of focus group research. Focus groups can be used for different purposes at different stages of the research process. Government agencies, political advisors, and social scientists have made extensive use of focus groups, but the approach has been used most extensively in market research to help businesses explore aspects of consumer behavior as part of their effort to develop and sell products. Focus groups enable their members to interact in a "safe" environment with very little direction from the researcher. Focus groups can often help public officials and policy analysts gain an understanding of how citizens see problems, evaluate services, and are likely to react to new programs.