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3. Stimulation: Usually after a brief introductory period, the respondents want to express
their ideas and expose their feelings as the general level of excitement over the topic
increases in the group.
4. Security: Because the participants’ feelings are similar to those of other group members,
they feel comfortable and are therefore willing to express their ideas and feelings.
5. Spontaneity: Since participants are not required to answer specific questions, their
responses can be spontaneous and unconventional and should therefore provide an accurate
idea of their views.
6. Serendipity: Ideas are more likely to arise out of the blue in a group than in an individual
interview.
8. Scientific scrutiny: The group interview allows close scrutiny of the data-collection
process, in that observers can witness the session and it can be recorded for later analysis.
9. Structure: The group interview allows for flexibility in the topics covered and the depth
with which they are treated.
10. Speed: Since a number of individuals are being interviewed at the same time, data
collection and analysis proceed relatively quickly.
Disadvantages of Focus Groups
1. Misuse: Focus groups can be misused and abused by considering the results as
conclusive rather than exploratory.
2. Misjudge: Focus group results can be more easily misjudged than the results of other
data-collection techniques. Focus groups are particularly susceptible to client and
researcher biases.
3. Moderation: Focus groups are difficult to moderate. Moderators with all the desirable
skills are rare. The quality of the results depends heavily on the skills of the moderator.
4. Messy: The unstructured nature of the responses makes coding, analysis, and
interpretation difficult. Focus group data tend to be messy.
5. Misrepresentation: Focus group results are not representative of the general population
and are not projectable. Consequently, focus group results should not be the sole basis for
decision making.
• Depth interviews can uncover greater depth of insights than focus groups.
• Its attribute the responses directly to the respondent, unlike focus groups, where it is
often difficult to determine which respondent made a particular response.
• Its result in free exchange of information that may not be possible in focus groups
because there is no social pressure to conform to group response.
Disadvantages of Depth Interview
• Skilled interviewers capable of conducting depth interviews are expensive and difficult
to find.
• The lack of structure makes the results susceptible to the interviewer’s influence, and
the quality and completeness of the results depend heavily on the interviewer’s skills.
• The data obtained are difficult to analyze and interpret, and the services of skilled
psychologists are typically required for this purpose.
• The length of the interview combined with high costs means that the number of depth
interviews in a project will be small.
• The reasons for the observed behavior may not be determined because little is known
about the underlying motives, beliefs, attitudes, and preferences.
• Selective perception can bias the data.
• Observation is often time-consuming and expensive
• It is difficult to observe certain forms of behavior such as personal activities.
• Finally, in some cases the use of observational methods may be unethical, as in
monitoring the behavior of people without their knowledge or consent.
• To sum up, observation has the potential to provide valuable information when properly
used.