Difference between revisions of "Focus group"

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(Focus Groups as applied to Health Informatics)
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A focus group is a qualitative research technique where the researcher or moderator conducts a group interview to address a specific issue (1). The size of the group is variable, but in general, five to ten participants is considered optimal. The duration of the interview can be an hour or two.  
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<p> '''Description'''
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</p><p>Focus groups are a form of qualitative research. They provide marketing managers, product managers, and market researchers with a great deal of helpful information. A focus group is a structured discussion in which a small group of people (usually 5-12), led by a trained facilitator, discuss their perceptions, opinions, attitudes, and experiences. These groups of people are part of a discussion of selected topics of interest in an informal setting which typically lasts about two hours. Participants are free to talk with other group members as the discussions are loosely structured and the moderator encourages the free flow of ideas. The moderator will be given an outline which will consist of a few specific questions prepared prior to the focus group. These questions will then start up open-ended discussions.
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Focus groups originated in response to a need in the mid-twentieth century by advertising companies to determine why (or why not) consumers liked (or disliked) various products and services (2). It was useful to bring consumers together to discuss these products and services, as the interactive nature of the interview allows the researcher to focus as necessary on areas of interest. Once there value was realized, focus groups were no longer limited to marketing, and soon became a cross-discipline research methodology, although their use in academics has been adopted more slowly.
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</p><p>'''History'''
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*Focus groups existed before World War II.
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Focus groups are useful for several reasons (1,2,3). First, a group of interviewees can be brought together rapidly and cost-effectively. This is particular important for a health informatics project as continual user feedback during development and deployment is key to a projects success. Second, this informatics project impacts all users in the organization, and therefore having a common forum will help to encourage discussion and sharing of concerns on how the project affects the organization.  
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*Focus groups were very common among marketers in the 1950’s.
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*Focus groups were rediscovered by social scientists in the 1980’s.
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As with other research techniques, there are drawbacks (2,3). Most notably, the researcher (or moderator) sacrifices the control of a one-on-one interview for the flexibility of a group interview. This can lead to discussion of extraneous topics, but an effective researcher will be able to quickly refocus the discussion. Another drawback is some interviewees may feel inhibited about bringing up topics where their opinion differs drastically from the group. Combining a group interview with one-on-one interviews can circumvent this drawback.
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*Focus groups became popular in the 1990’s during President Clinton’s time in office.
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</p><p>'''Principle Use'''
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There are abundant examples of the use of focus groups for informatics projects in published literature. Some select examples include:
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To be able to get perceptions, opinions, attitudes, and experiences of different individuals in a one time structured discussion.
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* A study where a focus group of nurses was assembled to gather feedback on an “assessment” that was introduced to an EHR (4).
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</p><p>'''Advantages'''
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* A study where a group of clinicians was brought together to address a recently implemented EHR and the issue that a “useful clinical overview” was not easily obtained from the system (5).
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*Allow interviewers to study people in a more natural setting than a one-to-one interview – encourages participation from people who do not like to be interviewed on their own.
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* A study designed to ascertain the “social and organizational requirements for a decision support system (DSS)” (6).
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*Since the data is easy to understand, the results are believable.
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* A study of clinicians and patients to determine an appropriate alerting technique to track changes in medical knowledge (7).
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*Low in cost.
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*Get results relatively quickly.
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*Can encourage contributions from those who feel they have nothing to say.
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1. Leedy et al. Practical Research. p146.
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*Can aid businesses in decision making and in the development of marketing strategies and promotional campaigns.
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*Individuals build on each other’s ideas and comments.
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2. http://www-tcall.tamu.edu/orp/orp1.htm
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*Useful for identifying participant’s needs.
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</p><p>'''Shortcomings'''
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3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_group
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*Requires a trained facilitator.
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*Quality of the discussion depends on the skill level of the facilitator.
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4. Gunningberg L, Fogelberg-Dahm M, Ehrenberg A. Nurses' perceptions of feed-back from the electronic patient record for the quality on pressure ulcer care. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2006;122:850.
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*Generates a lot of qualitative data that may be difficult to analyze.
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*Outspoken people may dominate discussion.
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5. Neve K, Kragh Iversen R, Andersen CK. Is it possible for nurses and doctors to form a useful clinical overview of an EHR? Stud Health Technol Inform. 2006;122:314-9.
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*Time may be lost on issues irrelevant to the topic.
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</p><p>'''Examples in Informatics'''
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6. Dahlstrom O, Thyberg I, Hass U, Skogh T, Timpka T. Designing a decision support system for existing clinical organizational structures: considerations from a rheumatology clinic. J Med Syst. 2006 Oct;30(5):325-31.
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</p><p>http://firstmonday.dk/issues/issue5_7/killingsworth/index.html
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</p><p>http://www.aapspharmaceutica.com/inside/focus_groups/Data/index.asp 
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7. Hinze A, Buchanan G, Jung D, Adams A. HDLalert - a healthcare DL alerting system: from user needs to implementation. Health Informatics J. 2006 Jun;12(2):121-35.
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http://www.informatics.indiana.edu/capstone/project.asp?project=55
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</p><p>http://www.mhsip.org/reinvent/reinventing.html
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</p><p>http://www.cdlib.org/inside/assess/evaluation_activities/mylibrary_focusgroup.html
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</p><p>http://www.managementhelp.org/evaluatn/focusgrp.htm
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</p><p>Eysenbach, G., Kohler, C. (2002). How do consumers search for and appraise health information on the world wide web? Qualitative study using focus groups, usability tests, and in-depth interviews. BMJ 324: 573-577 [Abstract] [Full text] 
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</p><p>The Focus Group Guidebook, David L. Morgan, Sage Publications
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</p><p>Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research, Richard A. Krueger, Sage Publications

Revision as of 02:37, 28 February 2007

Description

Focus groups are a form of qualitative research. They provide marketing managers, product managers, and market researchers with a great deal of helpful information. A focus group is a structured discussion in which a small group of people (usually 5-12), led by a trained facilitator, discuss their perceptions, opinions, attitudes, and experiences. These groups of people are part of a discussion of selected topics of interest in an informal setting which typically lasts about two hours. Participants are free to talk with other group members as the discussions are loosely structured and the moderator encourages the free flow of ideas. The moderator will be given an outline which will consist of a few specific questions prepared prior to the focus group. These questions will then start up open-ended discussions.

History

  • Focus groups existed before World War II.
  • Focus groups were very common among marketers in the 1950’s.
  • Focus groups were rediscovered by social scientists in the 1980’s.
  • Focus groups became popular in the 1990’s during President Clinton’s time in office.

Principle Use

To be able to get perceptions, opinions, attitudes, and experiences of different individuals in a one time structured discussion.

Advantages

  • Allow interviewers to study people in a more natural setting than a one-to-one interview – encourages participation from people who do not like to be interviewed on their own.
  • Since the data is easy to understand, the results are believable.
  • Low in cost.
  • Get results relatively quickly.
  • Can encourage contributions from those who feel they have nothing to say.
  • Can aid businesses in decision making and in the development of marketing strategies and promotional campaigns.
  • Individuals build on each other’s ideas and comments.
  • Useful for identifying participant’s needs.

Shortcomings

  • Requires a trained facilitator.
  • Quality of the discussion depends on the skill level of the facilitator.
  • Generates a lot of qualitative data that may be difficult to analyze.
  • Outspoken people may dominate discussion.
  • Time may be lost on issues irrelevant to the topic.

Examples in Informatics

http://firstmonday.dk/issues/issue5_7/killingsworth/index.html

http://www.aapspharmaceutica.com/inside/focus_groups/Data/index.asp

http://www.informatics.indiana.edu/capstone/project.asp?project=55

http://www.mhsip.org/reinvent/reinventing.html

http://www.cdlib.org/inside/assess/evaluation_activities/mylibrary_focusgroup.html

http://www.managementhelp.org/evaluatn/focusgrp.htm

Eysenbach, G., Kohler, C. (2002). How do consumers search for and appraise health information on the world wide web? Qualitative study using focus groups, usability tests, and in-depth interviews. BMJ 324: 573-577 [Abstract] [Full text]

The Focus Group Guidebook, David L. Morgan, Sage Publications

Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research, Richard A. Krueger, Sage Publications

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