Facilitating Focus Groups Context Focus groups are a useful approach to use when seeking to have planned discussion led by a facilitator. It is a tried and tested method for consulting people, for example about their needs; their experiences; their views, perceptions and preferences of a particular service; or their thoughts for improved practice. People were invited to participate in focus groups on a number of different occasions during the Healthy Hearts in the West Initiative. This included: Meeting with employees prior to planning a baseline survey to be administered during a workplace health event Pupils (aged nine and ten years old) following participation in the Fit Kids Programme
Women who had completed the 12 week community based weight management and heart health programme Children and parents views about physical activity Young people s lifestyle choices. When focus groups can be useful Focus groups are particularly useful for: Eliciting information on the who, what, why, when, where type questions Obtaining several views on the same subject Helping to inform the development of a survey as they are a good exploration tool Helping develop materials and gather information on what sort of information provision is useful Addressing issues this can include some sensitive issues Working with individuals who have difficulty with reading and writing Gaining in depth information about peoples views and the feelings that lie behind them Creative thinking - the group interaction can generate new ideas not previously considered Gauging public attitudes or motivation Allowing everyone to have their say When not to run focus groups Focus group approach does not work so well in the following situations: When you want information about how many people hold a certain view, ie number crunching and a lot of quantitative data When you want an opportunity to explore individual accounts When the people you want to attend are geographically widely dispersed When the target audience have communication difficulties unless professional interpreters can be brought in (eg sign language interpreters or translators for different languages)
How to run a focus group the initial preparation: Questions to consider: What are the aims and possible outcomes from the focus group ie why are you running it? What are you going to do with the information you have gathered; and have you factored in time to process and analyse the findings? What resources are available for example will you offer reimbursement of travel expenses for participants or an incentive, for example a gift voucher which, might be the motivating factor to attend? Sampling issues, including how many focus groups you need to run, and how many people would you like to have in each focus group? There are differing views on the optimum number of people attending a focus group, some people say six to eight, others say eight to ten. Sometimes a larger group can also work well. Who are you going to invite? Participants need to be selected in line with the aims and possible outcomes. Sometimes the group may be obvious for example those who have participated in a certain activity; at other times, for example when seeking views about a service or a new initiative, they should be more diverse, reflecting the different viewpoints. Will you audio-record (or video) the focus group; or rely on notes? If the latter, ideally there will be two people facilitating the focus group, one of whom may have a specific remit to take notes. Planning: Participants need to know the purpose of the focus group meeting in advance. Depending on the group you may need to send out written invitations, or plan to attend the final session of a programme / activity. Participants should know what is expected of them; and should be told in advance if the discussion is to be taped. Ensure that the venue is accessible and comfortable for the participants. Aim to time the meeting taking into account the daily commitments of participants (ie does morning, afternoon or evening suit them better, is there a preferred day of the week?). Estimate how long the focus group will last and inform people in advance. If possible, pilot a focus group meeting
How to run a focus group Before you start Room size and seating arrangements can everyone see the facilitator and can they see the other participants? Consider a horseshoe or circle arrangement (soft chairs can provide a relaxed environment). Welcome everyone but avoid talking about the topic as people arrive as you don t want to pre-empt the discussions. Agree the ground rules with participants, including confidentiality, the role of the facilitator (see below), explain that there are no right or wrong answers, and emphasise that you want to hear from everyone Facilitating the focus group Brief all the participants together at the start of the focus group - there is a difference in saying something to an individual and saying it to a group. Explain what you will be using the feedback from the discussion for (for example to support evaluation of a programme, to develop a survey for wider use, or to inform the development of or improvement to a service or programme). Obtain consent to audio record or take notes Have a list of topics and questions (you may have sent these out in advance) that you follow during the focus group meeting. However, don t be too directive and use the topic guide flexibly. Consider the use of prompts very often additional information can be gained by asking in what way? The outcome is dependent on the skill of the facilitator to encourage participant interaction. Use the group dynamic to stimulate discussion and allow ideas to be bounced off one another. At the end of the focus group thank the participants and ensure that they can see the value of their contribution.
The role of the focus group facilitator The facilitator should be familiar with the topics and issues for discussion, participants may ask questions for clarification of the status quo or what is (or might) happening in the future. Inform participants about why the focus group is happening Record the discussion Keep the discussion focused and guide participants Do not validate or make judgement about individual responses Ask questions that prompt discussion but try to avoid asking leading questions Use prompts and probes to illicit more information, for example can you tell me what you mean by that or can you give me an example Sensitively manage any participant who monopolises the conversation, so that everyone has the chance to speak Allow all participants the opportunity to respond Try not to react or make assumptions to answers Remember that the facilitator is there to gather information; the facilitator s role is not to give their own opinions and views (unless examples are needed to stimulate discussion) and the facilitator should not seek to solve problems during the focus group discussion. The participants may offer ideas and solutions to issues, barriers or problems the facilitator may use this feedback in the report as an option for the way forward.