Focus Groups

Janine Waclawski

Focus groups are one of the fundamental qualitative data-collection tools used by industrial and organizational psychologists. According to R. A. Krueger (1994), a focus group is a carefully planned discussion that is designed to obtain perceptions about a defined area of interest in a permissive and nonthreatening environment. It can be used to explore a multitude of issues, and it is a very popular technique in the worlds of both market research and psychology. Although there is much to be said about focus groups, given their widespread use, three topics will be emphasize here: (a) focus group basics, (b) other important factors, and (c) applications of focus groups. When conducting a focus group, four key factors must be considered: (a) the process, (b) the content, (c) group composition, and (d) data analysis. With respect to process, a focus group ideally should consist of 10 to 12 people, although it certainly ...

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