Top Tips

  1. Decide what kinds of questions you’re going to ask (e.g., engagement, exploration and / or exit questions)
  2. Be clear about your goals and what you want to find out
  3. Know what information you already have
  4. Brainstorm preliminary questions and pilot them (get feedback)
  5. Avoid vague language or words that may not be familiar to your focus group (e.g., acronyms, technical jargon)
  6. Use open-ended language (avoid leading questions)
  7. Avoid asking questions that may cause embarrassment or seem threatening (this may include understanding whether there are questions that might be culturally inappropriate, depending on who is in the focus group)
  8. Start out with more general questions and then move to the more specific ones

(see Create Effective Focus Group Questions)

For more resources on writing focus group questions, check out the following links:
A Practical Guide to Focus Group Research

Using Focus Groups in Program Development & Evaluation