The Focus Group Protocol

As a public health professional, it is likely that you will conduct focus groups as part of community health assessments. Focus groups are useful when exploring community issues and developing good survey questions. As with all research, planning the focus group is important so that the data you seek can be easily and reliably collected and will yield valid results. A focus group protocol is created to describe all planned procedures. It serves as a road map to the public health professional detailing what he or she plans to do when conducting a focus group. For this week’s Assignment, review the readings on qualitative research skills to help you develop a focus group protocol.