Data Collecting Methods: Getting Down To Basics

This resource corresponds to Module 5.

Other guidelines that will help a focus group generate reliable information include the following:

A focus group should include the people who can provide the information you need. People cannot provide information they do not have. Asking high school counselors about student substance abuse can provide valuable information about the perspectives of high school counselors. But, ultimately, their opinions and impressions cannot substitute for information provided by the teens themselves.
Participants should be similar to one another. The less diverse your focus group, the better. If you want to gather information on Hispanic teenagers, teens who have recently emigrated from Somalia, and teens in the "heavy metal" subculture, organize individual focus groups for each category. There are two reasons for this:

An individual cannot represent a population. A focus group of 10
teenagers might not be able to provide a representative sample of all
teens in your community. But it will probably generate more
representative information than will one teenager included in a group
spanning several generations.

Research shows that people are more likely to reveal their opinions and
beliefs and to talk about sensitive issues when they are with people who
they perceive to be like themselves.
Participants should not know one another. Participants are more likely to be honest and forthcoming when they do not know the other people in the group. The following may occur when participants know one another:

They are less likely to reveal personal or sensitive information.

They are more likely to express views that conform to those of others

in the group (especially others whom they perceive as having some

power or influence outside the group).

They may respond to questions based on their past experiences with

one another (which effectively reduces your sample size).