Federal agencies, such as the Census Bureau for the 2020 decennial census, also use the focus group method for message testing purpose among diverse populations. Marketers can use the information collected from focus groups to obtain insights on a specific product, controversy, or topic.

Ī focus group is also used by sociologists, psychologists, and researchers in communication studies, education, political science, and public health. Thus, focus groups constitute a research or evaluation method that researchers organize to collect qualitative data through interactive and directed discussions.

If group members are representative of a larger population, those reactions may be expected to reflect the views of that larger population. The idea is for the researcher to understand participants' reactions. As a program evaluation tool, they can elicit lessons learned and recommendations for performance improvement. In market research, focus groups can explore a group's response to a new product or service. Focus groups are used in market research to understand better people's reactions to products or services or participants' perceptions of shared experiences. Their reactions to specific researcher/evaluator-posed questions are studied.

A focus group is a group interview involving a small number (sometimes up to ten) of severely autistic people or participants who have other traits/experiences in common depending on the research objective of the study.

Apex focus group