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RESEARCH GUIDELINES
CONDUCTING FOCUS GROUPS
WHY MASTER THIS SKILL?
Focus groups are widely used in development research to elicit qualitative information from selected
people in a facilitated discussion. These are often referred to as Focus Group Discussions (FGDs).

The main purpose of focus group research is to draw upon respondents attitudes, feelings, beliefs,
experiences and reactions in a way which would not be feasible using other methods, such as
observation, one-to-one interviewing or questionnaire surveys. Compared to individual interviews,
focus groups are able to draw out the views of the whole group, thus letting the researcher gain more
information in a shorter time.

Focus groups are good for answering the how, why and who questions. They are particularly useful
when there are power differences between the participants and decision-makers, when the everyday
use of language and culture of particular groups is of interest, and when you want to explore the
degree of consensus on a given topic.

Focus groups can be used to plan more rigorous data collection (for example to design a
questionnaire), or to enrich, broaden or contextualize existing data. They cannot ordinarily be used to
generate statistics, but can be used to complement and help explain quantitative research findings.

The method lends itself to examining sensitive or taboo subjects in more depth, as the facilitator can
use certain techniques to discuss such issues without personalizing them.

Summary
Advantages: Focus groups can be more time-saving than individual interviews. The methodology
is flexible and has high face validity, meaning that it measures what it is intended to measure.
There are also opportunities for discovering unexpected outcomes and new information that was
not anticipated by the facilitator.
Challenges: Unless there is an experienced facilitator, the discussion could become a question-
and-answer session or be too generalized to be of any use. Unless it is properly facilitated, there
can be disputes within the group or domination by one or two participants. Data generated can be
difficult to analyse, and there is often a tendency to generalize the results of focus groups.
HOW TO ORGANIZE AND CONDUCT FOCUS GROUPS
1. Preparation
Focus groups are generally considered to be most effective with about 1012 participants.
Participants can be matched according to age, sex, ethnic background or other characteristics
that have a bearing on the kinds of information that are sought from the discussion.
Discussions should not take more than an hour; otherwise participants may become restless.
Longer sessions are particularly unfair on women with small children.
A question guide should be developed, but should be around topics and open-ended questions
rather than structured like a questionnaire.
A venue where participants can feel secure and will not be overheard or interrupted is a
necessity. If women are invited, it may be appropriate to provide child-minding facilities.
The facilitator should be experienced, familiar with the context and language of the group, and
ideally matched with the make-up of the group (for example, an older woman for an older
womens group).
A dedicated note-taker is required, even if the group discussion is being recorded electronically,
as the technology may fail or not pick up all of the voices.
Refreshments can be served after the event, especially if people have come a long way, but not
during the discussion, as eating and drinking can prove disruptive.

2. During the focus group

The following are guidelines for the actual conduct of focus group discussions:
The facilitator should introduce themselves and the topic, explain the procedure and set some
ground rules (turn off mobile phones, listen to each other, please do not interrupt).
Permission for note-taking and any other recording must be sought. If using a digital voice
recorder make sure participants understand that they can have it turned off whenever they ask.
Participants may introduce themselves if the facilitator would like to use names when addressing
them, but this should be before recording commences so that all comments are anonymous.
The facilitator should start with general questions, and then narrow down to specific issues this
is to put people at their ease and to get the group discussion going. Sensitive questions should
come later as by that time, participants will probably feel more confident to discuss them.
A good facilitator will also observe the participants body language, which can sometimes be as
useful as the actual discussion. Body language can show, for example, fear, anxiety, reluctance,
and sometimes that people are not telling the whole truth.
The facilitator also needs to ensure that everyone in the group has a chance to talk, as well as
managing anyone who dominates the discussion.
There are different views about the facilitator sharing information about themselves and offering
advice. Any such inputs should be natural and not impede the discussion. Advice is probably best
offered after the group has finished and refreshments are being served.
At the end of the discussion, the facilitator should sum up the main points and make sure that
there are no more comments to be added. The best information often comes when the facilitator
is summing up, and the note-taker needs to be ready to capture this.
3. Useful techniques and tools

The following techniques and tools are appropriate to use in some contexts:
Story with a gap: This is a good way of getting suggestions as to how people cope with a
particular problem. The facilitator recounts a situation familiar to the participants but stops the
story before the problem is solved. Participants are then asked to complete it.
The other person technique: A good way to ask about sensitive issues is to allow participants
to talk about what happened to other people even if, in reality, it is themselves. For example: I
hear that there are many women who have experienced domestic violence, do you know anyone
to whom that happened? Participants can then discuss what happened to the other women
without disclosing that it is a personal experience.
Using participatory tools, such as timelines, seasonal calendars, ranking exercises and
community maps can be a good way to start a discussion, but these should be followed up by
more in-depth discussion around the issues raised.

4. Tips for facilitators

Here are some additional tips for focus group facilitators:

Put the participants at ease by showing interest. The facilitator needs to look as if they are
interested in the subject and want to learn more about it.
Keep questions to a minimum number of topic areas. There must also be opportunities to explore
unintended outcomes.
Avoid vague or confusing wording, especially jargon.
Avoid asking more than one question at a time.
Be careful not to just listen to and make eye contact with the most dominant members of the
group. These participants often sit opposite the facilitator on purpose and it is easy to fall into the
trap of only speaking to them.
During the discussion, be aware of the following among group members:
Non-verbal cues;
Conflicts;
Coalition building;
Scapegoating;
Participation levels.

5. Reporting

Here are some additional tips on reporting the results of focus group discussions:
For reporting purposes there is a need to know roughly how many people agreed or disagreed
with a statement. Qualitative expressions, such as almost all, half of or two-thirds should be
used, rather than percentages, which are best used with quantitative data.
The report should clearly state the number of participants in the group. Generalizations should be
avoided, as these can result in the misleading assumption that everyone in a community had the
same views.
 Use recorded quotes; these add life to a report, especially when they are well expressed or
provide a good description relevant to the issue that was discussed.
Remember that the qualitative information from focus groups can be used to explain quantitative
data from other sources, making the latter more useful, interesting and easy to read.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Green, D. (2010) Top tips on interviewing people in groups, From Poverty to Power blog, 29
September 2010, http://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/?p=3640 (last accessed September 2015).

Kitzinger, J. (1995) Qualitative research: introducing focus groups, British Medical Journal 311: 299.

Krueger, R.A., and Casey, M. A. (2009) Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research (4th
edition), Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

Laws, S., et al. (2013) Research for Development: A Practical Guide (2nd edition), London: Sage
Publications.

Morgan, D.L. (1997) Focus Groups as Qualitative Research (2nd edition), Thousand Oaks, California:
Sage Publications.

Emergency Capacity Building Project (2007) The Good Enough Guide Impact Measurement and
Accountability in Emergencies, Oxfam GB for the Emergency Capacity Building Project,
http://www.ecbproject.org/resource/18044 (last accessed September 2015).

Oxfam GB October 2015

This guideline has been prepared by Oxfams Research Team and Oxfam GB's Content
Development Team for use by staff, partners, and other development practitioners and
researchers. It was written by Vivien Walden and edited by Martin Walsh.

The text may be used free of charge for the purposes of education and research, provided that
the source is acknowledged in full. The copyright holder requests that all such use be registered
with them for impact assessment purposes. For copying in any other circumstances, or for re-use
in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, permission must be secured and a fee may
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Oxfam welcomes comments and feedback on its Research Guidelines. If you would like to
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The information in this publication is correct at the time of going to press.

Published by Oxfam GB under ISBN 978-1-78077-953-9 in October 2015.

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