Focus Groups

Abstract

Focus groups are popular in social science research as well as in marketing and other business areas. When participants feel comfortable and the group facilitator is well prepared, the conversation usually leads to rich stories that probably would not be told in such detail in another type of setting. This technique can be very engaging for participants, especially persons from communities who often do not have a voice in matters that affect them. Focus groups are best suited to environments and groups where the members are knowledgeable, willing, and capable of communicating; the topic and the group setting are compatible with group interaction; and the group facilitator has adequate skills.

“It’s so fluid, it’s developing all the time”: pre-service teachers’ perceptions and understanding of cyberbullying in the school environment

“…As PSTs' perceptions may be marginalised to in-service teachers and senior management within the school, the use of focus groups can provide a voice and platform for discussion when considering their perceptions towards cyberbullying (Carey, 2015). In addition, the focus group format was a good method of data collection as it reflects real life discussions and decision making in the schools when addressing cyberbullying.…”

“…Participants gave their written consent prior to taking part. The focus group format followed a free discussion on cyberbullying with a prompt sheet for the facilitator to provide structured guidance on the conversation, as recommended by Carey, (2015). Prior to conducting the focus group, the authors developed a focus group prompt sheet.…”

“…The topic areas included (a) Conceptualisation of cyberbullying, (b) Responding to cyberbullying, (c) Management strategies, and (d) Perceived development of cyberbullying in the future. The lead author facilitated the focus group with a prompt sheet as this is known to provide PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF CYBERBULLYING 8 structure to the free discussion, enabling rich quality data from the discussion (Carey, 2015).…”

“I feel like everyone does it”- adolescents' perceptions and awareness of the association between humour, banter, and cyberbullying

“…The focus groups method was selected for this study as it provides the opportunity for participants to consider the subject of discussion and voice ideas, perceptions, preferences, and opinions in their own language (Carey, 2015;Creswell, 2003;Parris, Varjas, Meyers, & Cutts, 2011). Focus groups were held by the lead author and generally lasted 45 to 55 minutes.…”

Implementação e Gerenciamento Contínuo de Fornecedores Localizados em Países de Baixo Custo: a experiência de três empresas brasileiras

“…Essa abordagem capitaliza a interação entre os membros do grupo para identificar as Research, Society and Development, v. 9, n. 12, e17291211012, 2020 (CC BY 4.0) | ISSN 2525-3409 | DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v9i12.11012 perspectivas defendidas (Carey, 2015). Grupo focal é uma técnica de coleta de dados, distinta das entrevistas em profundidade, que fornece aos pesquisadores dados que capitalizam as interações entre os membros do grupo para obter respostas às perguntas do pesquisador (Rosenthal, 2016).…”