Making sense of focus groups Rosaline S Barbour CONTEXT This paper provides an overview of the contribution of medical education research which has employed focus group methodology to evaluate both undergraduate education and continuing pro- fessional development. PRACTICALITIES AND PROBLEMS It also examines current debates about the ethics and practicalities involved in conducting focus group research. It gives guidance as to how to go about designing and plan- ning focus group studies, highlighting common misconceptions and pitfalls, emphasising that most problems stem from researchers ignoring the central assumptions which underpin the qualitative research endeavour. PRESENTING AND DEVELOPING FOCUS GROUP RESEARCH Particular attention is paid to analysis and presentation of focus group work and the uses to which such information is put. Finally, it speculates about the future of focus group research in general and research in medical education in particular. KEYWORDS education, medical, undergraduate ⁄ *methods; *focus groups; research design ⁄ *meth- ods; curriculum. Medical Education 2005; 39: 742–750 doi:10.1111/j.1365-2929.2005.02200.x INTRODUCTION Although focus groups have become an increasingly popular method within health research there is considerable confusion surrounding their use. This stems from the existence of several separate and potentially contradictory focus group traditions. These are: marketing research, organisational research, community development and social sci- ence. 1 Focus group discussion, however, is an inher- ently flexible method and there is considerable scope to draw on all these traditions. Part of the confusion has related to how focus groups should be defined. In order that full advantage can be taken of the myriad possibilities of this approach it is advisable not to enforce too strict a set of criteria: ÔAny group discussion may be called a focus group as long as the researcher is actively encouraging of, and attentive to, the group interaction.Õ 1 The history of focus group applications by health researchers has closely paralleled the gradual acceptance of qualitative methods per se. 2,3 Until relatively recently the recommended use of focus groups in health research tended to be confined to hypothesis generation; testing and implementation in the preliminary stages of a project; 4,5 to developing questionnaires; interpreting quantitative studies; 6 or designing intervention programmes. In addition to their use in the context of mixed methods projects, recent years have witnessed a growth in the number of studies using focus groups as their principal method. THE USE OF FOCUS GROUPS IN MEDICAL EDUCATION RESEARCH Use as exploratory method In common with much health services research, medical education research has traditionally relied heavily on questionnaires. Focus groups have been used by several researchers during the initial phase of studies to develop items for inclusion in surveys of medical undergraduates. The role of focus groups in such an approach is to ensure that the questions being asked are appropriate and easily understood by respondents 7–9 and that these are contextually rele- vant. 10 Focus groups are also useful in designing making sense of qualitative research Correspondence: School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Dundee, 11 Airlie Place, Dundee DD1 4HJ, UK. Tel: (01382) 348557; Fax: (01382) 348533; E-mail: R.Barbour@dundee.ac.uk Ó Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2005. MEDICAL EDUCATION 2005; 39: 742–750 742