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Focus group

Focus group interview (FGI) is a research technique based on the discussion of 8 - 12 people which utilizes the effects of group dynamics. During a joint discussion on the subject participants inspire, direct, and encourage one another to express their opinions, thereby allowing for receiving more information. The meeting is led by the moderator whose role is to guide the course of the discussion according to a script prepared before. During the meeting, participants refer to their personal experience and are treated as experts in a given field. The meeting is recorded and a transcription is created out of its recording. Then it becomes the subject of analysis.

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Worth to know

  • Among the pluses of a focused group interview there are interactions between the meeting’s participants, which are made up of:

    1. The simulation effect - every behavior of an FGI participant influences the other participants to think and speak their mind. In addition a group increases one's motivation to complete a task - take part in the discussion. Statements made by members of a group make it so one has to be alert and ready to react.
    2. The synergy effect - as a result of clashing and exchanging opinions, as well as a group effort, more solutions and ideas are created then in a discussion with a single person.
    3. The snowball effect - one participating group’s statements cause the responses of the next’s, which contributes to an increase in the amount of information received and generated on the basis of already existing ones.
    4. The spontaneity effect - statements and behaviors of others stimulate us, they cause emotions, which lead to certain actions and reactions. Having a casual conversation leads to a decrease in control and to the answers being less thought out. Participation in a discussion requires focus on statements said by others, which decreases the ability to say exactly what one might want to convey.

  • The focus group allows to collect information, which is formulated in the language of the employees, to learn the feelings caused by current events, and the problems present in the organization. During a session the participants' reactions to proposed solutions e.g. procedures, and development programs can be observed. Thanks to focus groups, so called hidden knowledge can be reached.

  • Data collected with the help of a focus group can be used to feel in information that a survey may have missed, or it can be used to interpret results achieved through quantitative analyses (e.g. on the subject of L&D needs, engagement research, or engagement) 

  • Implementation of focus groups in an organization is made difficult by: a domination of a directive management style, an ignorance towards employee ideas, a lack of respect, a lack of communication between management and the team, a low level of trust in employees, a fear of sharing concerns, and a reluctance to share knowledge.