A focus group is a conversation held with a specific group of people, where the researcher can ask questions and listen to the views of the participants in a safe environment. These groups are both focused (there is a specific topic or issue to discuss) and interactive (all members of the group are encouraged to give their views). Because participants do not have to agree with each other, given the right conditions, the data gathered can be richer than individual interviews as participants discuss their ideas back and forth (Litosseliti, 2003).
Focus groups can be a stand alone design, or as part of a mixed methods design. In the latter, the focus group will usually follow individual interviews or a survey and will be made up of a selection of participants from the first method. To gain enough variety of ideas, and to allow all members to participate, the group should ideally be made up of 6-8 people. This number also makes it easier for the moderator to manage the session (Hennink, 2014).
To access further information on this page, click on the quick links in the box below.
(Deakin University, 2025).
Planning for the focus group is essential for the group to run smoothly.
1. Allocate tasks to the research team: Decide on the moderator (person to facilitate the sessions), note taker (to take notes on the main thrust of the discussion) and transcriber (records exactly what each person says).
2. Train the team: Each member of the research team should be familiar with the aims of the research, the role they will play and the expected behaviour during sessions, strategies of group moderation and ethical issues.
3, Size and composition of the group: Determine the size of the group (6-8 people are best) and if possible, choose people who already know each other and work well together, so there is a sense of trust and co-operation already set up. This will help participants to feel safe to share.
4. Using a purposive non-randomised method, choose participants who you think have the characteristics (knowledge and experience) to best inform your study.
5. Consider ethical issues: Consider whether ethics approval is required for your study. You need to ensure participants are safe, fully informed about the purpose of the focus groups and study and are able to give informed consent. You also need to consider safe and secure storage of data and recordings and what will happen to the data at the end of the study.
6. Develop a discussion guide: This may be a list of questions for the moderator to ask, or prompts to start the discussion. While you will have some idea of where you want the discussion to go, you need to be flexible enough to let the group take the discussion down different paths. However, it is up to the moderator to ensure that the discussion stays on track so that information collected is relevant to the research questions.
(adapted from Hennink, 2014).
Using Focus Groups in Research by 
International Focus Group Research by 
Focus Groups: From structured interviews to collective conversations by 
Facilitating with Ease! Core Skills for Facilitators, Team Leaders and Members, Managers, Consultants, and Trainers by 
Moderating Focus Groups by (Deakin University, 2025).
Facilitators should think about the way they are dressed. You need to be comfortable but professional. Your clothing choice should fit the context in which the focus group is to be held.
Facilitators should be polite and respectful at all times being mindful of any participants who may become uncomfortable for any reason (personal or due to the topic being discussed).
To begin the session:
During the session:
To end the session: