BioPsychoSocial Assessment Tools for the Elderly - Assessment Summary Sheet Method: Focus Group Year: 1980s. Domain: Biological, Psychological, or Social Assesment Tool Category: Context-dependent Variations/Translations: Focus groups have also been used in marketing and political discussion. Setting: Community, office. Method of Delivery: In-person group discussion, led by trained moderator. Description of Test: Focus groups are defined as a research technique in qualitative research where the researcher collects data through group interaction. The researcher has an active role in creating the group discussion for data collection. In essence, it is the researcher’s interest that provides the focus whereas the data come from the group interaction. Focus groups are group interviews conducted with 6-12 participants. Discussions usually follow a question template or a more general thematic guide. Focus groups are run until saturation (no new ideas are generated) is reached. Whereas individual interviews yield great depth, focus groups are ideal at generating a great breadth of information. Focus groups have been widely used in sociological research and across different fields. They are also becoming popular in gerontological research. Scoring/Interpretation: Coding and thematic analysis is often used to analyze the data. Writing the actual report of the results requires a balance between the direct quotation of the participants and the summarization of the discussions. Time to Administer: 1-2 hours Availability: Widely available. Software: NVIVO Website: http://managementhelp.org/evaluatn/focusgrp.htm Qualitative/Quantitative: Qualitative Validity (Quantitative): N/A Reliability (Quantitative): N/A References: DMorgan, D.L. (1997). Focus groups as qualitative research. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Krueger, R.A., & Casey, M.A. (2000). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research. (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Comments: N/A .