Pick two problems in focus group interviewing, and discuss how a researcher can avoid them

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

1. Running a Focus Group Because the Investigator Doesn't know What Else to Do: A focus group is useful for determining why a group is interested in a particular attitude (ideas, motivations). To determine what a group does, or if they participate in certain activities, a survey may be more appropriate.
2. Being Too Vague about the Objectives of the Focus Group Interview: In a focus group, there are only a few questions to guide the moderator. As such, it is very important that the objectives are very clear to the moderator. Use a cognitive map to outline expectations.
3. Using Too Few Groups: Focus groups should not be used only because you can identify a very small number of individuals to serve as the sample. Researchers should use several small focus groups to allow for comparison between groups.
4. Over-Reaching during Any Given Focus Interview: Researchers should be realistic about how many questions and how wide of a topic any given focus group can handle. There should be a handful of questions and be limited to 30–60 minutes. The more complex and emotionally charged a topic and the greater the heterogeneity of the group, the longer the topic will take to address as responses are more complex. Over-reaching creates pressure on moderator to speed things up, which will lead to pressure on participants to shorten answers, which is the opposite of the focus group goal.
5. Overly Large Groups: Group size should not be increased to limit the number of focus group sessions necessary to include all subjects in the sample. This can create confusion for the moderator and an imbalance where some people talk a lot and others do not speak much.
6. Too Much or Not Enough Influence from the Moderator: Moderators must walk a fine line of regulation. The moderator must be able to follow planned questions, but to move off plan if an area of interest arises spontaneously. Moderators must keep sessions moving forward and not spend the entire allotted time delving into one topic or question.
7. Professional Moderators Tend to Get Professional Results: Experienced moderators have special tactics to keep participants on point while not overstaying on a particular topic of subject. This allows for a breadth and depth of topical coverage that an amateur moderator might not be able to successfully achieve.
8. Bullies: The moderator must create a discussion context that is inviting to all participants so that one participant does not dominate the interview.