About Our Research: Using Focus Groups as a Data Collection Method

Given our community-based research approach at MA Appleseed, we collect data in several ways. Whether qualitative or quantitative, we center racial equity and lived experience in our process to ensure that those impacted by the issues we study have their voices heard. 

In the next several blog posts, we outline the data collection methods we employ, including qualitative surveys, semi-structured interviews, and quantitative data requests from state agencies. This post will dig into focus groups. 

One way we uplift the voices of impacted individuals on a particular topic is hosting small focus groups with community members. These structured sessions allow us to hold and create space for impacted individuals to share their experiences in a supportive and validating setting, bring community together, and gain a deeper understanding of the issue at hand from those directly facing it.  

We prioritize intentional community outreach to recruit participants, oftentimes partnering with direct service providers who already serve the populations we are focusing on. Our existing relationships with partner organizations help to facilitate this outreach. For example, we got feedback on an ad campaign for the Homeless Youth Handbook from The Home for Little Wanderers, where we have previously given Know-Your-Rights presentations. Additionally, we hold focus groups in locations that are convenient for participants and provide a meal and financial compensation for their time and expertise.  

One of our current projects is investigating the state of language access in the MA Trial Courts for litigants who are Limited English Proficient or Deaf and Hard of Hearing. As part of this research effort, we held focus groups with impacted community members who speak different languages. To make these sessions feel more genuine, familiar, and comfortable for participants, we found facilitators who spoke the relevant language to eliminate the need for an interpreter. 

In all, focus groups are a great resource in our toolkit when we want to understand the everyday experiences of marginalized and minoritized individuals interacting with institutions such as the criminal legal, education, and public benefits systems. That said, they require deep relationship building and must not be transactional in a way that only benefits the researcher.  

The next blog post in this series will explain our use of qualitative surveys. Stay tuned!