A Focus Group, as it is called in English, or Focal Group, as it is called in the Spanish language, is a type of study technique used in the social sciences and in commercial works that allows knowing and studying the opinions and attitudes of a particular audience.
Focus Group is a method or way of collecting the information necessary for an investigation, which consists of bringing together a small group of 6 to 12 people to answer questions and generate a discussion around, for example, any type of product, service, idea,, etc.; in a focus group the questions are answered by the interaction of the group dynamically
In the group interaction, the questions will be answered and others will arise, while the condition of freedom of opinion is essential for everyone to feel comfortable and free to express what they think.
The script should be developed in the focus group sessions, which will initiate and close the discussion. Although it is something recurrent that participants are influenced by group pressure and therefore change any position or opinion on an issue, this issue can be addressed through special strategies for which moderators must be prepared.
The innovations of the Focus Group are based on the fact that thanks to its modality, it allows a wide variety of information on the ideas, opinions, emotions, attitudes and motivations of the people involved; however, it has a disadvantage since this method is based on the use of a small sample, so the results could not be generalized.
A focus group is usually held in a spacious and comfortable room around a quiet environment so that members feel secure in participating and giving genuine responses; In addition, the results of the Focus Group allow a good number of prototypes or concepts to be evaluated in a short time, reducing launch costs and error costs.
Other characteristics of the focus group is that it usually lasts between 1 to 2 hours, a small amount of money is usually paid to participants for their attendance, the session is usually recorded for later analysis, and the session is observed by researchers through unidirectional glass.
