Focus Groups

Focus group questions

This is a link to some information on Focus Groups which gave me a better understanding of what i was doing.http://sru.soc.surrey.ac.uk/SRU19.html

Focus group should be a group of people all with the same focus of interested yet with personal opinions on the matter. The group need to be able to engage in discussion without a dominating character “also influence, and in some cases actually take over, a group and make it difficult for the less assertive members to speak” (Bell, 2005, p. 163). The researcher should be the one in control of the situation.

It is an idea to have questions prepared but also have the room for expansion, yet be able to have the control to bring in back onto the topic if it wavers.

I believe that this would be a beneficial tool for my inquiry as it brings people together and gets others talking about the Industry with more passion than they would if they were in a solo interview. You can also see how opinions differ though out a small group of people. However, I agree that opinions are changed with one person’s thoughts and therefore it can become biased. I also feel that within the performing industry it is difficult to gather a group of actors every week as auditions, rehearsals and shows crop up. I will have a focus group meeting with a group of performers who are self employed or are involved within a Company. I want to know their views on the economic climate

What are your opinions on being multidisciplinary and having many strings to your bow?

Can performing be beneficial to learning within an educational environment?

What have you learnt from being self employed or having a company? What is the most important thing to consider?

What would you say the pros and cons of starting up a new company?

What are your views on social networking within the performing industry?

What skills do you think are useful in the performing Industry?

What opinions do you have on Government cuts and the current economic climate?

do you think learning through theatre is an important part of education?

Where can you see performing industry heading in the next few years?

Can a company be created from just sword fighting alone or should all aspects of performing be considered?

What is your most useful skill you have developed that has benefited your career?

After spending time with my focus group, I can see that this is a great way of getting people discussing and debating my topic. It can get heated at times, but as long as you have control and keep it on topic, I have found it is a great way of getting a group of opinions from people who feel passionately about your chosen subject. I can see that this will be helpful towards developing my inquiry, however, it will be difficult to be able to get a group of people to meet as our industry is very spontaneous.