Focus groups are a type of qualitative research that rely on data that is produced through semi-structured group interaction in an informal setting, facilitated by a moderator. A focus group is composed of a collection of people from one or more stakeholder groups brought together to discuss key questions specific to the program.
Focus groups are an important part of the program review process. A good focus group can access more detailed and nuanced information about the experiences / perspectives of multiple key stakeholders in a way that adds depth and richness to the survey data.
Getting started:
- decide who you want to invite to a focus group and why. Possible groups would be current students, alumni, faculty, employers, community members etc.
- think about what specifically you want to find out based on what you did / didn’t find out from the survey data
- refer back to institutional priorities (e.g., the Widening Our Doorways Academic Plan) to ensure that, what you ask will provide the data you need
- decide who be included in a group and who will conduct it, considering the potential impact on results (e.g., will faculty feel free to express their thoughts freely in front of a dean?)
- identify how the focus group will be conducted and any considerations you may need to give to: timing, location, confidentiality, consent etc.
- decide how you plan to recruit participants (e.g., random sampling, snowball sampling, targeted invitations etc.)
- identify how you will communicate with potential participants and what information they might need to know (e.g., how will data be stored? will responses be anonymized? who will have access to the data? how will it be reported out and to whom?)
As a starting point, check out UBC’s Conducting Focus Groups: A Summary of Best Practices
The CTLI is available to support you in navigating this part of the program review process. For more information, check out the Writing Questions and Hosting Focus Groups sections.