Advantages and disadvantages of focus group discussions pdf

That being said, i think this holds true with classroom lectures and discussions. Top 16 advantages and disadvantages of working in a group. Aug 16, 2011 focus group participants are asked questions in an interactive setting and are encouraged to discuss thoughts freely with other participants. The term focus group was created by ernest dichter, a famous market expert and psychologist. The group may be more thorough in dealing with a topic than any individual might be. The advantages of discussion groups include increased productivity, enhanced creativity and the ability to reach a general consensus among all participants. Deep detailed data observations by outsider rather than selfreported data disadvantages difficult to systematically collect data, especially in middle of important moment hard to take notes so details may be forgotten ethical considerations. Rather, a focus group consists of participants who are guided via a facilitated discussion. There are advantages and disadvantages in each of these methods and as each child is an individual so should your choice be. Pirates group to learn about decision making in groups because it is common to work in groups and making decisions collectively rather than alone by the group leader. Disadvantages of focus group interviews are the technique can be misused by poorly trained researchers.

As long as the disadvantages are equally weighed with the advantages that focus groups provide, the. Pros and cons of classroom group discussions owlcation. Dos and donts of a positive focus group experience 5. In todays world, it is very common for a person to feel like they are an outsider. The focus group fg technique has been recently rediscovered by social scientists. Since group members have different specialties, they tend to provide more information and knowledge. Coworkers and friends are more comfortable in voicing views in each others company than on their own with the researcher. The democratic processes are more easily acceptable and are consistent with the democratic ideals of our society. Focus group is an important research method, here we list the advantages and disadvantages of such research method. Group decision making advantages and disadvantages wisestep. You need to focus more on the advantages to gain maximum quality output, and that too efficiently. Advantages and disadvantages of group discussion answers.

Focus groups explicitly use group interaction as part of the method kitzinger 1995. Focus group discussions are a common qualitative research strategy. Breen faculty of education, university of technology, sydney, australia abstract this article guides readers through the decisions and considerations involved in conducting focusgroup research. The facilitator can steer the participants back to the focus group questions or go along with the direction of the focus group discussions, depending on the research questions posed. We examined the advantages,disadvantages, and lessons learned regarding the use of tfgs to conduct research with the atrisk population. Well, as a group has a lot of members and they as individuals come from different backgrounds so ultimately they have unique and different ideas and opinions regarding the matter at the hand. My takeaway was that the school was meeting the individual needs of their students and families. When used as a survey method, the focus group approach presents various pros, strengths and. Unfortunately, this is sometimes at the expense of less active students. Stimulates learners to think about issues and problems.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of group discussion. The group decision making is more democratic in nature, while individual decision making is perceived to be more autocratic in nature. A focus group lasting more than 90 minutes probably includes too many questions or topics for discussion. Following are the main advantages of focus group discussion in research. The pros and cons of focus groups show that there can be a lot of valuable information gathered from this type of survey method. What are the advantages and disadvantages of focus group. Pros of whole group discussion as a teaching method many teachers support this method as whole group discussions typically provide greater interaction between teacher and students. Focus group discussion is frequently used as a qualitative approach to gain an indepth understanding of social issues. Some of the disadvantages are the potential for group members to slip into groupthink, the differences among separate personality types and the time required to establish discussion groups.

During the call the moderator andstudy team were able to log onto a website provided by the communication. The questions and the manner in which the focus group is facilitated will vary based on the type of participants. Classroom discussions create an opportunity for teachers to lead a class through a subject and build upon students knowledge. Todays market researcher has an embarrassment of tools available to them, yet one research option has stood the test of time the focus group. Online discussions advantages and disadvantages by ali press on october 3, 2014 in external online discussions can be greatly beneficial to student learning and are often one of the first things lecturers consider when moving elements of their courses and modules online as part of a blanded learning strategy. These were all the advantages and disadvantages of working in groups that one has to tackle effectively to ensure a healthy environment in the workplace. What are the main advantages and disadvantages of discussion. Group discussions can be difficult to steer and control, so time can be lost to irrelevant topics. It generally involves group interviewing in which a small group of usually 8 to 12 people.

So, above are some of the advantages of the focus groups. It is led by a moderator interviewer in a loosely structured discussion of various topics of. Advantages, disadvantages, and lessons learned in conducting. Many businesses are unaware of the kinds of benefits using focus groups can have.

Information on the internet is shared regularly and opinionated comments are everywhere. When used as a survey method, the focus group approach presents various pros, strengths and benefits, as well as cons. It provides a surprising amount of flexibility in the classroom. The focus group needs to be appropriate for the type of participants in the group. Advantages, disadvantages, and lessons learned in conducting telephone focus groups to discuss biospecimen research concerns of individuals genetically at risk for cancer abstract advances in telecommunication technology allow biomedical researchers to explore new, inexpensive opportunities for conducting focus group research. Individual and group decisions each have their own strengths and weaknesses. The patient focus groups were characterized by a strong need to talk and a high need for information. Some of the advantages that group decisions have over individual decisions are described as follows. Using focus groups in schools sage publications inc.

In this chapter, i will focus on the importance of the focus group method, its history, and its benefits and pitfalls. In a focus group discussion, the interviewer talks to a group of people about their thoughts, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a topic. In this article, we look at online focus group advantages and disadvantages compared with facetoface focus groups. A huge list of advantages and disadvantages of working in groups. Important skills that a group moderator should possess 3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of group. A key market research tool, focus groups are often used in order to gain a better insight into different behaviours and opinions of consumers regarding products, brands and services. Merton, a sociologist and the associate director of the bureau of applied social research headed the first focus groups in the united states. Adapted from guidance on participatory assessments dummett et al 20 2. The factors described above resulted in focus group discussions that might be interpreted as characteristic of health research. Focus groups typically involve a moderatorled group discussion with between eight and 10 people. Finally, we explain how focus group findings can be used, as well as their advantages and disadvantages as informationgathering tools. Participants are typically a group who are similar in some way, such as income, education, or career.

Here are some additional key advantages and disadvantages of group therapy to take a look at. As said the discussions are controlled by the moderator. You can take advantage of multiple opinions to find a better choice. We take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of focus groups below. Respondents were invited to answer directlyor comment on other focus group members discussions. It is an inexpensive and fast method of acquiring valuable data. Accurate information the facetoface involvement of a qualified moderator means that everyone is involved and the conversation.

Mar 26, 2017 advantages and disadvantages of teams. The moderators control the discussion as per his or her experience. Focus group discussions generally last from an hour and a half to. Accurate information the facetoface involvement of a qualified moderator means that. However, such a widespread use of fg seems to have become a fashionable research technique. All the ideas may be as unique and better in comparison to individual decision making. In the health care professional focus groups, researchers experienced a greater variety of communication styles. The first is synchronous, which means realtime or live groups, conducted via video or chat. The impression is that fg is often adopted without any prior consideration of whether it.

Oct 05, 2017 advantages and disadvantages of focus groups todays market researcher has an embarrassment of tools available to them, yet one research option has stood the test of time the focus group. Advantages of conducting a focus group interview are the flexibility in questioning, the. The open and free discussions typically generate ideas and can provide a wealth of information for the business or organization. Focus groups allow businesses to directly engage with their customers. What is the purpose and advantages of focus group interviews. What are the advantages and disadvantages of group decision. We first briefly explain the procedure of the technique and then provide an overview of the different forms of focus group discussion. A practical guide to focusgroup research rosanna l.

Advantages of conducting a focus group interview are the flexibility in questioning, the encouragement of dialogue and exchange of ideas, the generation of hypotheses, being relatively fast and inexpensive and producing findings in a form that most users fully. The group can focus multiple attentions and diverse energy on a topic. The selfselecting process and voluntary participation may not be representative. Methodological aspects of focus groups in health research. The goal of this working paper is to describe potential uses of the focus group, its advantages and disadvantages as a qualitative research method section 2. Advantages and limitations of focus groups focus groups allow researchers to interact with participants, gaining valuable input. Advantages enhances learning in both the affective and cognitive domains. Decision making in group process is a structured problemsolving or ideagenerating strategy in which individuals ideas are gathered.

Advantages focus group brings interaction between participants highlights their view of the world. Online focus group advantages and disadvantages mrqual. It provides a surprising amount of flexibility in the classroom, despite the lack of the traditional lecture. Oct 03, 2014 online discussions advantages and disadvantages by ali press on october 3, 2014 in external online discussions can be greatly beneficial to student learning and are often one of the first things lecturers consider when moving elements of their courses and modules online as part of a blanded learning strategy. Advantages and limitations of focus groups howstuffworks. The difference between quality data and data with bias depends on how people are screened and the data is treated. The disadvantages of classroom discussions synonym. Focus group discussion relies on facilitators or moderators to guide the group s discussion berg, 1989. Summary of the advantages and disadvantages of focusgroup methodology advantages disadvantages attitudes and opinions are socially formed.

Focus groups are a form of qualitative research that is commonly used in product marketing and marketing research, but it is a popular method within sociology as well. Students should learn to understand their own conditions to choose the best research method for their study. If the focus groups provide advantages, it also provides some of the disadvantages. A set of openended questions initiates focus group discussions. The method aims to obtain data from a purposely selected group of. Marketing researchers employ a variety of tools, including oneonone interviews, written surveys and polling to track consumer opinion. Focus group discussion relies on facilitators or moderators to guide the groups discussion berg, 1989.

This thoroughness may arise simply because of the number of perspectives represented in the group, but it also owes to the fact that members often propel each others thinking. This paper uses the definition of focus group as a controlled group discussion, on the basis that the group interaction generated through discussion is of prior importance to this methodology. Advantages and disadvantages of focus groups in research. It has become the subject of important methodological discussions and it is now considered a very innovative research method. There are certain drawbacks in group decision making also. More information because there is a group of people. Advantages and disadvantages of group discussion making.

Focus group discussions contents what focus group discussions are and when to use them 1. The amount of data collected would be overwhelming and complex to be analyzed. During a focus group, a group of individualsusually 612 peopleis brought together in a room to engage in a guided discussion of a topic. It requires a lot of planning and training to encourage participation and focus the. Verdict on the advantages and disadvantages of group decision making group decision making can be an effective way to encourage team members to share their experiences, education, and perspectives in a safe environment to further the goals of a personal or professional team. The benefits of working in groups undoubtedly weigh more than the disadvantages of group working. In mixedmethod research, comparing and relating may result in conflicting findings between data collected through different methods. Used with all of the above, a focus group is an integral part of gauging public perceptions. Here are a few points to highlight the advantages of group learning. Taking focus groups as controlled group discussions, with their hallmark being their interactive nature, and other important features being the public performance aspect, and the moderators constraints and guidance, how can these central features of the methodology be reflected in the. Being able to work face to face with a range of people, of different demographics can give a more real insight into their opinions and help businesses to get to know their customers better. A huge list of advantages and disadvantages of working in. A semistructured focus group guide used as a basis for discussion was developed by the transnational research team, which included seven women academics working from a variety of feminist perspectives.