Introduction

The main data collection tool in focus group research is the discussion guide. If well developed, this research tool can elicit the type of information from a group discussion to meet the research objectives. The quality of the information received will be a direct reflection of the forethought given to the design of the discussion guide and the question strategy, therefore sufficient time and careful attention need to be given to developing the discussion guide. The development of the discussion guide is one of the crucial tasks in focus group research. This chapter outlines the purpose of a discussion guide, the different types of discussion guides, the structure and function of each part of the instrument, and effective questioning strategies. For international focus group research, it is often necessary to translate the discussion guide into the language of the study population. This chapter also discusses language and translation issues as well as sensitivity to the development of culturally appropriate questioning strategies. A checklist of issues for designing the discussion guide is given at the end of the chapter.

Purpose of the discussion guide

A discussion guide is a pre-prepared list of discussion topics or actual questions used by a moderator to facilitate the group discussion. The main function of the discussion guide is to act as a memory aid for the moderator to assist in managing the discussion around a range of key topics.