title: Focus group interviews as a methodology.
abstract: Focus groups are a form of group interview used widely in social science research. It is a methodology that has also been applied in a number of areas of healthcare study, particularly in health promotion and consumer satisfaction. First described by Bogardus in 1926 ( 1 ). focus groups fuse the principles of qualitative research and group process theory. Morgan ( 2 ) suggested that: 'The explicit use of group interaction is to produce data and insights that would be less accessible without the interaction found in a group.'
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, Southampton General Hospital.
authors.forename: Pam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jackson