What will the composition be in each focus group?

As focus groups are discussions among people with similar characteristics, it is important to ensure that participants in any one group have something in common with each other. The reason for this is simple. People talk more openly if they are in a group of people who share the same background or experiences

Who can provide the best information?

Do not forget to think carefully about all aspects of the problem and be creative when deciding who can provide you with the best information. People in positions of power and authority, or with technical skills, are not necessarily the best people to talk to if you are interested in community attitudes and beliefs. Sometimes people who are less obvious can be extremely useful. Try to think of all the members of your community that could have some knowledge or influence on the problem.

If you do not understand the community well enough to know who can be of most use, do not be afraid to ask local health staff, local leaders or simply members of the community that you have access to. Never rely only on your own ideas about a problem, particularly where you are studying people's attitudes and beliefs. You could be on the wrong track completely by viewing things from your own experiences.

How many groups are necessary?

In general, once the focus groups cease to provide you with new information, then you do not need to conduct any more sessions. Sometimes this may occur after only two or three sessions with each grouping of participants; sometimes you may need to run six, seven or more before you are satisfied. If this is the first time your team has used focus groups, then you need to allow also for a few practice sessions that may not provide you with the quality of information you require.

You should group "types" of people together. This is probably obvious, but nevertheless worth mentioning.

How many participants do we want to select? "6 - 7"

After deciding who it is you want to include in the project, you need to decide how many people you will want to contact for each session. Focus groups work well with around four to twelve people. Groups with more than eight can be difficult to control, but the decision on how many you want in each group will depend on how your particular community groups together and conducts discussions in natural community settings.

If you have decided on eight participants for each group, it is still advisable to invite ten people, in case some do not arrive at the session. Be careful though not to over-recruit. In many communities it would not be acceptable to turn away participants who had already arrived.

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Method of selection (sampling)

There are many methods for selecting your participants, and the type of sampling will depend on how you will use the information. Focus group results cannot usually be used to describe how an entire population would respond to the same questions, so the type of sampling used in studies designed to describe whole populations is not really necessary (for a discussion of these methods, just refer to a simple text on sampling for epidemiological studies, e.g., Smith and Morrow, 1991).

The common (and simplest) method for selecting participants for focus groups is called "purposive" or "convenience" sampling. This means that you select those members of the community who you think will provide you with the best information.

How do we contact the participants?

This will depend, again, on the community with which you are working. Simply observe the local custom in your area. This usually involves contacting local leaders first, providing an explanation of the study, and gaining permission to work in that village or location. It could also involve meeting with local health workers. Provided you approach such people appropriately, they will usually be happy to help you to locate individuals for the focus groups.

How much notice you give the participants of the focus groups will vary according to the logistics of gaining access to the community. It is ideal to notify the participants the week before and then provide a reminder the day before. In many situations this is not possible, and in some cases participants have been successfully recruited one hour before the session! You need to consider your participants' daily routine and take into account the ease or difficulty for them to attend the session. They are really making a sacrifice to assist you, and this should always be recognised and allowed for.

When the participants are contacted for the first time, they should be provided with information about the study (without actually discussing the focus group questions or directly stating the aim of the study, as this may reduce the quality of the session), about why they have been selected, and how the results will be used. For example, you might introduce a study on perceptions of

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