Introduction
Research involves various strategies that can be utilized for the objective of achieving credible results. One of the methods used in research is focus groups comprising a group with about up to twelve participants. These groups are useful when investigating various issues or testing solutions. These groups work by having a moderator guide participant concerning a predetermined issue or set of topics undertaken to get qualitative results. Focus groups shed light on subject of interest and are advantageous since findings are clarified and tested despite limitation of number of participants which may lead to ethical issues such as bias and confidentiality.
How Focus Group works
Focus groups are formed to give answers to a predetermined questions from variety of key people who have information and expertise power on a given subject. A facilitator forms an environment that probes the participants to share their ideas and points of view concerning a given matter. These groups can be termed a qualitative method of collecting data. In that case, the data is descriptive, and no numerical measure can be applied to the same (Graziano & Raulin, 2019). The participants gather background data about a given topic and apply complementary avenues that give evidence of research ideas. When the group sits down to discuss a particular matter, new concepts stimulate everyone to brainstorm.
Focus groups confirm and develop findings thus, boosting research credibility. A moderator in a focus group raises the bar for everyone to feel there is a need to have unique results, and that is where passion comes in during the research. Focus groups work by engaging every person in the group so that they remain useful and relevant, as well as having possession and ownership of ideas they raise on a predetermined topic (Katz-Buonincontro, 2022). It is vital to note that focus groups lead to intensive and developed feedback that is useful in making conclusions on a particular topic. Important issues identified through focus groups are dealt with comprehensively, meaning that all underlying issues are covered, and there is a high likelihood that the information compiled will be accurate and meaningful.
Appropriate Use of Focus Groups
It is appropriate to use focus groups when introducing programs or services in an organization, where the beginning of a subject is marked by articulation of possible course of action. The reason is that the proprietors understand what might come afterwards and weigh possible impacts as far as the organisation’s service is concerned (McArdle et al., 2020). Additionally, focus groups are useful when there is a need to reveal the underlying factors that lead to daily problems. In that case, focus groups will dig deeper to highlight sensitive matters that lead to drawbacks, and through that, a remedy can be effectively developed.
Focus groups are to be used when researchers want to dwell on a specific area in their study instead of generalizing all the matters. That means findings will be credible since the sources consulted will be linked to a particular topic and may have direct answers to what is being studied. Lastly, it is appropriate to use focus when a researcher cannot ask questions easily through methods such as visual prompts, such as pictures (Morgan, 2019). Thus, focus groups are used on determined cases in research as discussed above.
Advantages, Limitations and Ethical Concerns of Focus Groups
Advantages
They key advantage is that findings are clarified and tested through focus groups, which lead to knowledge in a given subject. Focus groups are beneficial in business contexts since they give first-hand feedback that has been obtained concerning a specific issue (Graziano & Raulin, 2019). At that point, focus groups help uncover matters that may have been overlooked in the delivery of service and that helps fulfil customers’ demands. Moreover, when focus groups are used, the decision-making process is discovered. That paves the way for the discussion of what to be done and the steps to be followed regarding the matter on hand.
Limitations
Unlike surveys, focus groups are expensive since participants may demand compensation. Money is used to prepare the group to offer qualitative research free from conflict of interest. The other limitation is that participants in focus groups may not give their ideas freely since it is a simultaneous exercise which requires answers from all informants (Binns, 2021). The reason is that a person may feel pressured to give candid details that may not come from their mind or heart but from a general view of the topic. A facilitator may be sceptical regarding the participants’ views, more so when usable data is difficult to obtain. Lastly, focus groups have only a few participants hence, it limits knowledge depth and comparison of ideas. When a group has many people, it is possible to have a significant number that has been exposed to many issues hence, offering fine details on a topic.
Ethical Concerns
Focus groups tend to have motivated answers towards a given topic. Hence, the participants have been associated with bias in their research so that they become pertinent. Bias is an ethical issue because it contradicts the transparency and credibility of the research. If all the people agree on an issue without considering the holistic approach, the findings may be misleading, meaning future research may be complicated based on the current data (Brown, 2022). The other ethical concern in focus groups is the handling of confidential materials that may probe some of them to disclose details to other parties outside the group. The reason is that various research topics may need data drawn from personal information obtained from people or organizations. Hence, confidentiality has remained an ethical concern since focus groups have more than one person.
Conclusion
Focus groups provide information on topic of interest and are beneficial since findings are explained and tested despite limitation of number of contributors which may lead to ethical concerns such as bias and confidentiality. Participants in focus groups dwell on issues under research and offer findings that add knowledge. The advantage is that focus groups offer clarified and tested results of an issue. The key disadvantage is that it is an expensive method to use in research. Various ethical issues such as bias and confidentiality issues are evident when focus groups are used in research. Therefore, focus groups can be a logical method in research based on the factions mentioned in this essay.
References
Binns, R. (2021). Focus group advantages and disadvantages in 2022. Expert Market. Web.
Brown, N. (2022). Research ethics in a changing social sciences landscape. Research Ethics, 3(6), 17–24. Web.
Graziano, A. M., & Raulin, M. L. (2019). Research methods: A process of Inquiry. Pearson.
Katz-Buonincontro, J. (2022). Focus groups. How to Interview and Conduct Focus Groups., 9(6), 47–66. Web.
McArdle, K., Forrester, K., & Garrett, E. (2020). Interviews and focus groups. The Impact of Community Work, 12(5), 135–150. Web.
Morgan, D. (2019). The research design for focus groups. Basic and Advanced Focus Groups, 2(4), 39–48. Web.