Focus groups are not simply a discussion between people, but are focused interviews exploring interactions between participants. In this paper, Ian Mansell, Glynis Bennett, Ruth Northway, Donna Mead and Laurie Moseley explore the complexities and practicalities of using focus groups in research, with reference to a study of palliative care services

Introduction

Focus groups have become a regularly used research method within the health and social care arena (Webb and Kevern 2001). They have been defined as ‘simply a discussion in which a small group of people under the guidance of a facilitator or moderator, talk about topics selected for discussion’ (Macleod Clark et al 1996). This makes the process of conducting focus groups sound relatively easy but, as we have found from personal experience, this is not the case. It is not the purpose of this paper to present a wide-ranging review of the literature relating to focus group methods; authors such as Kitzinger (1995) and Morgan and Krueger (1998) provide this. Nor is it our intention to provide an overview in relation to the use of focus groups within the health and social care setting; again, a range of studies and review papers exist extolling the virtues or otherwise of utilising such a method (see: Read and Roskell Payton 1997, Robinson 1999, Webb and Kevern 2001). Here we are more interested in exploring and sharing the practicalities of using such an approach. Holloway and Wheeler (2002) suggest that the ‘complexities’ of focus group research are often forgotten. This paper seeks to address this deficit, by sharing our experiences of using focus groups in the context of a study that explored palliative care services.