Focus Group: What It Is and How to Conduct It

Article updated on February 3, 2026.

On the FREED blog, we are addressing UX Research from different angles, and one of them is understanding which research methods we can use in our projects. It is crucial to conduct thorough research with users to extract relevant information about their needs, perceptions, and evaluations of the product or service being designed or redesigned.

The research methods in UX Research are varied, very disparate, and the suitability of using one or another depends on the project phase and the type of information you want to obtain.

We have already dedicated an article to in-depth interviews as an appropriate method for obtaining qualitative data that allows identifying how people interact with a brand. Now we will talk about focus groups to help you understand their scope and in which cases it is advisable to apply them in your research.

If you prefer to watch a video instead of reading, it's here:

What is a focus group

A focus group is a qualitative research technique that allows for collecting insights into social relationships between people. Unlike in-depth interviews, which are individual, a focus group captures more than the sum of its parts.

The purpose of a focus group is not to save time or effort in research, but to open new spaces where the richness of insights comes from the exchanges that arise in conversation.

In this article, we will look at focus group examples, how to conduct one, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of this technique.

1. Focus group: example of use in market research

I observed my first focus group about 15 years ago in the United States, coordinated by a major consulting firm in Boston. At that time, I worked for a Canadian exterior wood siding company, and we were conducting a large market research project with end consumers.

The company was at a point where there was a strategy change: instead of focusing solely on the B2B segment (distributors, installers, architects), from then on, it would target the B2C segment.

Obviously, a change of this magnitude does not happen overnight, so extensive research was conducted. The company is Canadian, and its market is predominantly American.

Broadly speaking, the purpose of the focus group was to understand people's perceptions and their decision-making process for purchasing exterior siding in home renovation projects. I remember spending hours behind an invisible window, observing and carefully listening to the arguments and counter-arguments of each participant.

That's exactly what's interesting about a focus group: letting participants interact. The researcher usually plays a more passive facilitator or moderator role, opening the conversation and intervening only when necessary, allowing the focus group participants to be the protagonists. The conversation should occur between the participants, not between the facilitator and the participants.

When should you use a focus group instead of conducting a set of individual interviews? Precisely when we want to capture the interactions between people.

2. How to conduct a focus group

Now that we have explained what a focus group is, let's review the steps to conduct it correctly.

As in any research project, to conduct a focus group, there are usually 4 stages: (1) research design, (2) data collection, (3) analysis, (4) reporting and presentation of results (Morgan et al., 1998).

2.1 Research design

Define objectives:

• Define the purpose of the focus group.
• Develop a list of main questions.
• Address ethical aspects (ethics committee if applicable, confidentiality agreements).

Identify and recruit participants:

• Ensure a homogeneous composition (education, language, etc.).
• Decide how many participants should be in each group, always considering a higher percentage, 10 to 25%, as several will drop out.
• Recruit a facilitator and possibly an assistant.
• Decide how many focus groups should be conducted at this stage of the research.

The homogeneous composition of focus groups is an important aspect as we want people to feel comfortable, have cultural affinities, and be able to share while avoiding extremes.

Who are these extremes? On one hand, those who take too much prominence and monopolize the conversation or guide it according to their own interests. We also call them "opinion leaders."

On the other hand, there are the more quiet ones who may feel intimidated by these leaders, which we also don't want. Although the facilitator will moderate the conversation, doing their best to prevent this from happening, in a focus group, it is likely to observe these two extreme participants.

For participant recruitment, it is necessary to define selection criteria and questions that can be asked in advance for filtering. In a case like market research on exterior siding, some selection criteria clarified with prior questions are:

• Is the person a homeowner?
• Have they carried out home repair or renovation work in the last year?
• If so, did this work include changes to the exterior siding?
• If so, what type of siding did they use?

How many participants should be recruited for a focus group? It is usually recommended to have between 6 and 12 participants per group (Kotler), and it may be necessary to conduct 3 to 4 sessions, or even more, depending on the research design.

Some authors recommend fewer (6 to 8 participants). At FREED, we advise keeping a smaller group, no more than 8 participants, to allow everyone to participate.

Identify an appropriate location

• Select a suitable location without distractions.
• Coordinate necessary materials: recording equipment, informed consent, name tags, notebook for taking notes, etc.

A location like the one in the example is a special focus group room with a one-way mirror, meaning a glass that allows viewing from only one side. It usually has adequate audiovisual equipment.

Where to find such a place? Some universities have this type of logistics, as do specialized companies that rent rooms for market research projects, meetings, training, workshops, and similar activities.

2.2 Data collection

Prepare the session

• Familiarize yourself with the script.
• Estimate the duration of each session's recording.

Facilitate the session

• Introduce the session (introductions, signing confidentiality agreement, rules).
• Conversation (record, follow the conversation, observe gestures and non-verbal language).
• Ensure all questions have been addressed.
• Conclude and thank participants.

2.3 Analysis

At this stage, you need to define how you will analyze the data and carry it out. Among others, you can use discourse analysis, content analysis, coding, etc., depending on the research design and its objectives.

2.4 Reporting and presentation of results

Here too, according to the project and the target audience, you will have to choose the most appropriate type of report and the way to present the results to maximize impact.

3. Advantages and disadvantages of focus groups

We have already answered the questions of what a focus group is and what it is for, so now it's time to analyze its pros and cons. Because like any other research method, the focus group also has its advantages and disadvantages, which we will present below:

Advantages:

• Variety of ideas that emerge from group interactions. The same context, being in conversation with other people about a specific topic, can bring more variety and occurrence of ideas than in an individual interview.
• Allows capturing relationships, dynamics, and social interactions that go beyond individual narratives.

Disadvantages

• Can be costly and challenging to recruit enough participants.
• It is complex to analyze the collected data.
• Requires an experienced facilitator to moderate.
• An opinion leader participant can bias the conversation or intimidate others.

4. Recommendations for conducting a focus group

• Methodology: First, ensure that the focus group is the appropriate method for the research purpose. This means being convinced as a researcher and also explaining or "selling" the idea internally to peers and superiors.
• Participant selection: As mentioned above, participant recruitment is fundamental to ensuring an appropriate group.
• Facilitator selection: Here too, it is important to have a facilitator with the necessary skills to conduct the sessions. What skills are we looking for in a facilitator?:
• Ability to build trust and establish a conversational environment in which participants feel comfortable.
• Good understanding of the research objectives to know how to articulate the conversation beyond the script.
• Listening and attention to the details of non-verbal communication. In this sense, it is important to have a developed observation capacity, as many insights are not verbal.
• Good communication.
• Session execution: Be careful with biases that can be generated by an opinion leader participant or an inexperienced facilitator. The facilitator's stance must be completely neutral; they cannot guide the conversation towards a desired outcome. They must ensure that all questions in the guide are answered (according to the script but with flexibility), but without intervening.
• Analysis of collected data: A common problem in applying the focus group as a research method is the weakness or low methodological rigor in the analysis.

5. Focus group or group interview: what are the differences and which is better?

At this point, it is clear what a focus group is and what it is for. Let's now look at some differences and similarities between a focus group and a group interview:

1. Both are qualitative research methods that involve several participants in a session.
2. The researcher's role is different: In an interview, you have more prominence as a facilitator, while in a focus group, you let participants interact and only moderate the conversation.
3. A matter of disciplines: Focus groups are often used more as a market research method, while group interviews are used in qualitative research processes in social sciences, design, UX research, etc. However, increasingly, researchers borrow methods from other disciplines, making it complex to generalize and separate fields.

What is better? There is no written recipe that applies to all research contexts. From our experience, in practice, we see some confusion about the role of each method and the suitability of its application. Sometimes less experienced teams want to save time and resources and apply focus groups to replace individual in-depth interviews.

In this sense, if the goal is to capture individual experiences, beliefs, and mental references, we always advocate using the individual interview.

Whereas if we are exploring group practices and interactions in a specific context (e.g., in a work team), a group interview might be best.

And if we seek to open the conversation to broader cultural, societal issues, a focus group would be a good option.

However, regardless of the method, it is advisable to triangulate, that is, to seek different data sources either to corroborate or to deepen understanding.

Have you conducted focus groups in your user research? What has your experience been like?

References

Kotler, P. (1987). Strategic Marketing for Non-Profit Organizations, 3rd Ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall.

Morgan, D. L., Krueger, R. A., & King, J. A. (1998). The focus group kit (Vols. 1–6). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.

Nyumba, T. O., Wilson, K, Derrick, C. J., Mukherjee, N. (2018) The use of focus group discussion methodology: Insights from two decades of application in conservation.
Methods in ecology and evolution 9(1): 20-32.

Images:

Antenna on Unsplash
Leon on Unsplash