The Focus Groups - Research Paper Example

The Focus Groups and interviews Introduction An interview can be defined as any conversation that is conducted by two or more people. It involves the involvement of two or more persons in the discussion. There are questions that are asked by the person conducting the interview. The intention of the questions is to gather information from the interviewee. The general areas where interviews are conducted are in the journalism field as well as the media industry in general. However, they may be conducted in other fields such as research.

A focus group, on the other hand, involves a group of persons who are asked questions about their opinions, attitudes, perceptions and beliefs about something. In the groups, questions are asked in an interactive way and the members are allowed to socialize among themselves in a free manner (Stewart et al 2006, p.55)DiscussionThere are a many of reasons that make focus groups different from one-to-one interviews. One of the differences is that focus groups give a room for a person to gain information from the society’s cross section.

It also enables a person to obtain multiple views at once. On the other hand, in one on one interview the research is targeted on only one person and, therefore, the cross section of the society is not fully represented. The one on one interview only allows only single point of view at a particular time as opposed to focusing groups. One on one interview allows the interviewer to obtain deep information from a person. It can be very essential when a particular person has much knowledge about a particular aspect.

However, the focus group limits the availability of deep information from the study participants (Rubin & Rubin 2005, p.67).Group interviews have numerous advantages over one on one interview. One of the benefits is that the focus groups give room for interaction among the group members. It gives an advantage of generation of new thinking concerning the topic in consideration. The focus groups are dynamic in nature. Due to this fact the moderator can be able to modify the topics. There is also the ability to utilize the nonverbal behaviors of the participants.

However, there are issues that one needs to be aware of the focus groups. There are cases when they can be influenced by the dominant people. Secondly they cannot be effective when sensitive issues are concerned. The findings of the groups are not projectable. It means that this cannot be compared to the results achieved by other methods of research. The environment that is created by the groups is artificial and there are chances that the responses will be influenced (Morgan 2001, p.34). There are certain ethical considerations that the moderator should be aware of during the process of conducting focus groups.

There should be professionalism in the groups. It encourages the moderator to work with integrity. It should ensure that no one is jeopardized in the group. It will favor the public opinion on the research and, therefore, promoting the findings of that particular research. Respect should also be observed in the focus groups. It is towards the moderator and also the people involved in the research. People affected by the research should also be respected (Stewart et al 2006, p.56) References ListMorgan, D. L. (2001).

Focus groups as qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, Calif. [u.a.], Sage Publ.Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. (2005). Qualitative interviewing: the art of hearing data. Thousand Oaks, Calif, Sage Publications.Stewart, D. W., Shamdasani, P. N., & Rook, D. W. (2006). Focus groups: theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, Calif, SAGE