Focus groups involve gathering information and opinions that are “focused” on one subject from a small group of people (about 8 to 10 per group). These group discussions often provide insights that might not emerge in interviews. Focus groups can be used in all stages of making a safety and health change — from planning to determining effectiveness. You may want to recruit participants with similar characteristics (such as job classification) since group discussions often thrive on common experience. Hold separate group discussions when you want to solicit opinions from supervisors and the employees they supervise. Assuring the confidentiality of such discussions is essential.

Below are tips for planning and conducting a focus group:

• Develop a list of discussion topics ahead of time.
  
  
• Determine the amount of time to be spent on each topic. (Good discussions usually require about 1 ½ – 2 hours. )
  
  
• Design questions in such a way that they encourage discussion. (Don’t ask questions that get short answers like “yes” or “true.”)
  
  
• Start the session with an “ice breaker” that gets everyone to talk. Make sure that everyone knows that they are expected to contribute.
  
  
• Have an experienced note taker attend. If you can get all participants’ permission, record the session on audio or video tape.
  
  
• Afterward, review the tape or transcript and summarize major points. If a transcript is prepared, be sure to substitute fictional names for the names of actual participants.