Pros and Cons of Using Focus Groups Within Your Research

Researchers have to get information from the target population of the study. They have to get information that best justifies the aims of the study. For this purpose, they rely on various research strategies. They may be focus groups or case studies. They may be interviews or closed-ended surveys. Suppose the researcher has to collect detailed data from primary sources.

In this case, a Focus Group is usually selected. The aim is to get feedback from respondents. Besides this, it also helps in obtaining their perception and attitude. These are relevant to the study’s aspects. This article intends to provide the pros and cons of using Focus Groups in research.

What is a Focus Group in the Research?

Focus Groups research strategy provides detailed insights for the study. It is an “In-Depth Interview” technique. The researcher collects the required data in the form of group discussions. This information comprises the feelings, opinions, and attitudes of the respondent/consumer. The data collection is done through an interactive session.

It is like the interview technique (Carey and Asbury, 2016). The questions asked are like the interview techniques as well. But differences lie in the feedback. It may be the recording of feelings during an interaction. These interactions can also be within the respondents’ thoughts.

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Types of Focus Group Research Strategies

Focus Group Research Strategy has many kinds. They are as follows;

• Online Focus Group.
• Two-way Focus Group.
• Client Involvement Focus Groups.
• Dual Moderator Focus Group.
• Participant Moderated Group.
• Mini Focus Group.
• Uses of a Focus Group

Focus groups have many uses in the Research Field. Some of their common services are as follows;

• Marketers more often use Focus Groups for market research. They use the Focus Group research strategy in gathering information from customers. They collect information about their market offerings’ use, quality, and feedback. The aim is to understand customers’ needs. Besides these aspects, this information provides the attitudes and opinions of the consumers. These relate to the element of market offerings.
• Research scholars use Focus Groups as a research strategy within their studies. The aim is to gather detailed information from the participants of the study. The surveys don’t provide information that is in the minds of respondents. Hence, Focus Groups provide detailed insights into the participants.
• A Focus Group is usually preferred for obtaining information on social issues.
• Main building blocks of the Focus Group research strategy

According to a dissertation help firm, the moderator and participants are building blocks in Focus Group sessions. Their descriptions are as follows;

Moderator

A moderator is a confident person in the Focus Group Research Strategy. This person leads the target population of the study through different questions. A moderator is an unbiased person in the Focus Group. He is neutral throughout the data collection process. The moderator may be the researcher himself. They may also be a professional hired through external sources.

Respondents

Participants are the main pillars of the data collection process. It isn’t easy to select the most suitable respondents for research. The researcher selects them based on the aims of the study. They may be the people who have more excellent knowledge of the topic under investigation. The researcher must carefully narrow down a suitable population for the study.

Is Focus Group Research Strategy used for Quantitative, Qualitative, or both methods?

The quantitative research method gathers numeric information. It provides information on the quantitative aspects of the study. The qualitative research method relies on gathering detailed insights. It includes subjective information on the elements of a survey. The Focus Group research strategy provides detailed information on the topic of the study. It is more useful in qualitative research methods (Mishra, 2016). Hence, the use of Focus Groups in the qualitative approach is suitable.

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Pros of using Focus Group in the Research

The researcher uses a Focus Group to collect detailed information from the participants. Some pros of using Focus Group are as follows;

• A Focus Group research strategy is easy to conduct. It’s initiated as a regular discussion.
• It is the best strategy. This is because it helps understand the target population’s feelings and opinions.
• It is a flexible research strategy approach. It’s adjusted and amended as per the needs of the participants.
• It obtains immediate information from respondents of the study.
• It is convenient for applying analysis techniques to the collected data.
• It assists in collecting feedback from a large population group.
• It is efficient in providing data for the research study.
• It is used for collecting information from a large sample size.
• It provides information on the “How” and “Why” of respondents. It highlights how and why respondents think about a company’s market offering in such a way.

Cons of Using Focus Groups in the Research

Focus Group has some cons. These are highlighted through their application within the Research Field. Some of its drawbacks are as follows;

• It’s conducted in a non-natural setting.
• The researcher has less control over the study aspects.
• Sometimes it isn’t easy to analyze extensive sampled data.
• It takes time to interpret the results.
• Many of the study’s aspects are usually imaginary and hypothetical.
• It involves high cost.
• The interview must ensure good skills demonstration. If not, the data collection will lose its meaning.

Conclusion

Focus Group provides detailed and in-depth information. The researcher collects the required data in the form of group discussions. This information comprises the feelings, opinions, and attitudes of the respondent/consumer. The information is complete and meaningful. The use of a focus group in research strategy has many pros.

The main pros are that it provides information on the “How” and “Why” factors. Besides this, it is a flexible approach. But the cons are that it’s conducted in a non-natural setting. Many aspects of the study are also imaginary and hypothetical. Still, its benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Hence, researchers and marketers must use it. They should do so by evaluating both pros and cons of this research strategy.