Focused Group Interview/Discussion: In the focus group interview the attention of group members is focused/concentrated on some particular problem/ product/topic and the group discussion is directly and closely related to the topic/product/problem The group leader (moderator) has to use his skills etc and see that the discussion do not move away from the main problem and that necessary information is available from the group The group discussion is tape recorded or video-taped The required information is collected from the tapes and conclusions are drawn The group selected for interview/discussion is called focus group and information is collected from the group as a whole. Though the term focus group interview is used here, the interviews of group members are not taken as per the usual style. The whole group is treated as one unit and a specific problem/topic is discussed by the group as a whole. In this sense, the terms focus group interview and focus group discussion need to be treated as identical.
Focused interview (discussion) is a type of free interview in which a greater degree of control is applied to the course of the interview. Here, the interviewer puts a number of related questions to the respondents and tries to get information on all points at one time. The attention of the respondentis focused on limited number of inter-related questions. The respondent is given an opportunity to express his views freely but on limited number of questions/points. Unnecessary and unwanted discussion during the interview is avoided. The information and views expressed by the respondent are noted clearly and correctly by the interviewer.Focused interview is more precise, clear-cut and to the point. It reduces the time of interview but the information on important points is collected from the respondent.
Focused interview is superior to free interview as unnecessary questions, conversation and irrelevant information are avoided. Along with this, adequate scope is provided for discussion on important matters on which the attention of the respondent is to be diverted.
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