Focus Groups in Educational Research

Tina Štemberger

Summary:  The paper addresses the specifics of the focus group as a method of data collection in educational research, which is still underused in the field despite its acknowledged advantages of producing extremely rich and high-quality data. The paper explains the concept of focus group and presents the basic types and stages of planning and conducting focus groups. Particular focus is placed on the focus group - specific elements around which there appears to have been a lack of academic discussion to date. Therefore, the issue of identifying and recruiting participants, moderating the discussion, data analysis and particular aspects of research ethics are discussed. The paper ends with some argumentative suggestions for the critical use of focus groups in educational research.