Focus Groups

Here are some pros and cons of the youth team conducting an interview. These might help the youth team decide if doing an interview is right for them.

With focus groups, you can gain new perspectives on your issue, as you hear the direct responses from a representative group of your youth community. Focus groups are also an excellent way for people to bounce ideas off each other and gain different perspectives on the topics covered in the focus group.

Focus Groups

Focus groups differ from interviews as interviews are conducted with one person at a time. In the case of a focus group, it would entail a small group of youth being interviewed together. This method works best for a smaller group of people since it allows everyone the chance to share and join a discussion. It is helpful to have a diverse group so you can hear as many opinions as possible. You will ask questions about what the group specifically thinks and feels about the selected topics.

Youth should organize their own participants into smaller groups, 3-4 people, if they have a large number of people. Otherwise, one group will work with a maximum of 6-8 people.

A youth community focus group would benefit from having participants from different backgrounds such as social class, race, ethnicity, gender, etc. When using participants that don ’t share a common identity, you have a greater chance of getting a variety of opinions. However, a focus group is not intended for participants to clash over topics. Diversity is important, but you don ’t want the focus group debating rather than discussing all of your questions.