FOCUS GROUP METHODS

The focus group is a technique frequently used in market research which has become increasingly popular as a research strategy in social science and business research. "[It] is a group discussion that gathers together people from similar background or experiences to discuss a specific topic" (Dawson, Manderson, & Tallo, 1 993, p. 7). It is unstructured, free-flowing and flexible and guided by a facilitator who introduces a topic for discussion and encourages the group to talk about it naturally and openly. Participants should feel free to discuss their true feelings and beliefs and ideally the discussion would proceed at the group's initiative. In reality the facilitator may need to move the discussion along if it becomes bogged down in an issue or dominated by an individual.

The ideal size for a focus group is six to ten individuals (Wells, 1 974; Zikmund, 1 994). It may be difficult to generate a lively discussion in a group that is too small or the group may be intimidated by one or two members. With groups larger than 1 0 it may be hard to ensure that everyone in the group gets adequate participation time. The facilitator should be someone who easily establishes rapport with people and gains their confidence. They should also be able to listen carefully as they have an important role in 'focusing' the discussion and keeping it going. There is no rigid question schedule. Rather, the facilitator has a pre-prepared question guide or list of topics which participants discuss and probe.

Focus groups are of particular benefit in the exploratory stages of research and have a number of specific advantages. These include group synergy and stimulation which can generate a very wide range of ideas and insights, and security for less confident members of the group who may be encouraged to express their ideas by bolder participants. Morgan ( 1 988) defines this as the hallmark of focus groups, that is "the explicit use of the group interaction to produce data and insights that would be less accessible without the interaction found in a group" (p. 1 2). In addition, they are relatively easy to conduct and interviewing a group of people together is quicker and less costly than interviewing individuals.

However, they also have some important limitations. Focus groups can indicate a wide range of opinions and views but these may not be representative of the total population being studied. Therefore the researcher should not generalise from the results as they may be biased. Another factor which may limit representativeness is subject conformity to group norms. (Byers & Wilcox, 1 99 1 ; Dawson et al., 1 993 ; Morgan, 1 988). Morgan ( 1 988) also points out that the degree of control the researcher has over the data generated in focus groups is considerably less than with individual interviews.

Notwithstanding these limitations, focus groups are a very useful qualitative technique, especially when they are used in conjunction with quantitative methods, such as a questionnaire, as they were in this study. They are a time and cost efficient method for exploring topics, generating ideas and hypotheses and illuminating theoretical constructs, in this case about quality in undergraduate, business studies distance education courses.

4.6. 1 Focus Groups for the Study

The purpose of the focus groups was to provide preliminary data to help answer the research questions. In preparation for the focus groups, a schedule of very broad discussion topics was prepared based on student feedback and other anecdotal evidence and the literature (see Appendix 1 ). This was pilot run with local distance education students in Palmerston North. It was thought that student perceptions of quality change with their

experience as students over time. Consequently two focus groups were convened - one of students who had completed five or fewer Business Studies distance education papers (low experience) and the other of students who had completed 1 0 or more Business Studies distance education papers (high experience).

The perceptions of the two groups did indeed prove to be different so the design was retained for the research interviews. No refinements to the question schedule were required.

4. 6. 1. 1 Student Sample

A total of six student focus groups were conducted. Two groups, one low experience students, the other high experience students were convened in each of three cities - Auckland, which is the largest city in New Zealand and has about one fifth of Massey University's distance education enrolment; New Plymouth which is a small city serving a largely rural population and where students feel quite isolated; and Dunedin, the biggest city in the south of the South Island (see Appendix 2, map ofNew Zealand).

Students were selected from the Business Studies undergraduate roll and were studying papers in one of the seven departments or two centres of the faculty. In New Plymouth and Dunedin, because of the low experience/high experience criteria, all eligible students were contacted. However, in Auckland, where there was a high population of distance education students, care was taken to try and achieve a gender balance and to include students from different age groups and from outlying rural areas in both groups. Attention was also given to ethnicity with Maori, Pacific Island and Asian students in the groups. Every effort was made to oversubscribe all groups to cater for ' no shows' on the day.

As nearly all participants were working during the week, groups were convened on a Saturday. Light refreshments were served which helped to create a relaxed and convivial

atmosphere. All participants were sent a small ex gratia payment to cover travelling expenses.

Of the 4 1 students who took part, 6 1 % (n=25) were female and 39% (n= 1 6) were male. This reflected the gender balance on the total distance education roll but not on the undergraduate distance education Business Studies roll where there was 46% female and 54% male enrolment. Table 4 . 1 shows the number of participants in each of the student focus groups.

Table 4.1 : Number of Participants in Student Focus Groups

Auckland New Plymouth Dunedin

low experience 9 4 5

high experience 9 6 8

4. 6. 1. 2 Staff Sample

One staff focus group was conducted comprising seven staff. All Departments and Centres except Banking Studies were represented. There were four women and three men and their distance education teaching experience ranged from two to 1 2 years. The group convened after work one evening and light refreshments were served.

All student and staff focus groups were tape recorded and transcribed ready for data analysis.

Focus groups are an extremely useful mechanism for generating a lot of ideas which can begin to answer the research questions formulated for the study. However, it was believed that more in-depth knowledge and information was required from a third and very powerful stakeholder group within the university, that is senior managers. The data collection method used for this will now be discussed.