Focus groups are moderated meetings of 'involved' people discussing their experience of an educational intervention. They are a useful tool for formative/developmental or summative/retrospective evaluation and can serve as a single, self-contained method or link to other evaluation activities. It's main advantage is it's ability to obtain a large amount of interactive information on a topic comparatively easily, within a short time. However, the main disadvantage is that the setting is not 'natural' but deliberate which may change the responses you get.
Uses
Generating hypotheses
Developing interview schedules
Identifying key issues
Developing emergent themes
Illuminating quantitative responses
'Learner centred' course development
Getting reflective feedback on interim interpretations of study outcomes
How to facilitate a focus group
Resources
Checklist for Facilitators Running Focus Groups
Focus Group Questions Examples