Focus Groups For Senator Ifeanyi Okowa 2015 – Change We Can Believe In

Chairman: Hon. Omimi 

What is a Focus Group?

A focus group is the meeting of a small group of individuals who are guided through a discussion by a trained moderator (or consultant). The goal of the focus group is to get beyond superficial answers and uncover insights on consumer attitudes and behavior.

History of Focus Groups

Focus groups originated in American marketing. By the middle of the twentieth century, advertising companies were hiring marketing firms to survey the public in order to find out what kinds of products and services were most appealing. While providing a great deal of useful information, the surveys did not explain why products held so little appeal for some people. Nor did they suggest how products currently on the market might be altered to elicit greater consumer support. Focus groups gained popularity because they allowed participants to explain the reasons behind their reaction to products. They were then adopted as policy setting instruments by politicians interested in responding to "the voice of the people." It took a while for academic research to catch on to the usefulness of focus groups, and even when academia did begin to realize their potential, there was initially no standard methodology for gathering data.

Purposes of Focus Groups

At first, scholars embraced focus groups half-heartedly. During the 1980s focus groups were used as a supplement to other methods. Information garnered from group interviews was used to construct surveys, or the focus groups would be considered as "pilot" interviews for a larger study with one-on-one interviews. It was not until the late 1980s and early 1990s that the social sciences recognized focus group interviews as important data sources in themselves.

Research Uses for Focus Groups

Traditionally there have been several ways in which focus groups have been used to generate data.

Focus groups can help to generate hypotheses if researchers are exploring new territory. Stories told by focus group participants can be used in questionnaires or turned into hypothetical-type questions on surveys.

1. Focus group findings can help to interpret survey responses if the focus groups are conducted mid-way through a mixed-method research project.
2. Focus groups can offer insight into statistical findings--especially if unexpected outcomes occur.
3. Focus groups are often conducted to assist with program development or evaluation. Focus group interviews can provide valuable insight into whether a program or service has achieved desired goals.

Today focus group data are used independently to generate knowledge. Focus groups are seen as valuable tools for exploring how points of view are constructed as well as how they are expressed. Focus group data can explain how stories, ideas, attitudes, and experiences function within a certain cultural setting, especially within an ethnographic study.

Selecting participants.
Most focus group research relies on purposive sampling (Miles & Huberman, 1984), with researchers selecting participants based on the project and on the potential contributions of participants. Alternatively, participants can be randomly selected from a larger group that should be able to give insight into the topic.

Data Analysis

The analysis process includes summarizing the discussion immediately following the focus group. Because people can forget important details so easily, writing these field notes as soon as possible after the focus group has ended is imperative. Also, because researchers have the research questions in mind during the summing up process, salient themes of the discussion begin to emerge.

Conclusion

Focus groups have the potential to become a central approach in sociological and educational research, whether focused on the pragmatic end of evaluation or the abstract goal of theory building. The aim of this brief overview was to provide an introduction to the method and provide readers with a sense of the benefits and caveats attached to focus groups. Before conducting such groups readers are recommended to read more broadly on focus groups and think carefully about how appropriate focus groups are for their own work. When implemented correctly, however, focus groups can be an efficient and effective way to gain insights into social process.

Epilogue

I have made the above summary to highlight the importance of feedback on our campaign and eventually on good governance. We are all expected to participate actively in the forum with a view to providing feedback for our Principal. I am expecting it to be a two-way feedback such that the campaign can also serve as a contract with the masses.

Your ideas are welcome!