OTIS Evaluation Guide (PDF) - California Department of Public Health

How many times will this focus group be conducted?
If necessary, the same discussion topic can be repeated among different groups, particularly if you want
opinions from diverse groups such as those discussed in the question below. However, if you want to have one
or more focus groups to discuss a different topic:
• Click “Add Collection of Process Data Activity”
• Click “Focus Group” again to add detailed information about the new focus group.
What are the criteria to select the participants or who will be in the group(s)?
Based on your discussion topic, you may want criteria that identify individuals by smoking behavior, age
group, gender, ethnic background, geographic location (urban, rural, suburban), education level, marital
status, whether or not they have children, etc. Using your criteria, you can then recruit participants randomly
(e.g., through help wanted ads) or purposefully. If you know a group of people who have the best knowledge
and appropriate background for the discussion topic, you can use a less common approach, such as purposely
inviting them to form a focus group.
How many participants will be in this group?
This question can be answered by selecting the appropriate number from a drop down menu. The question
specifically asks for the number of participants in the focus group being discussed, not the total number of
participants in all focus groups to be conducted. Normally, a focus group consists of 8-10 participants. Too
large a group will distract the discussion and discourage some minority opinions, while too small a group will
result in less discussion.
How will the results be analyzed and interpreted?
Normally, a content analysis will be carried out to summarize participants’ individual points of view as well
as identify common themes. Displaying the data in a table with percentages is helpful visually. The results of
a focus group discussion serve many needs; therefore, the interpretation should focus on how the opinions
shed light on future interventions. For example, focus group results can be used as part of an in-depth needs
assessment, a tool for program planning, an indicator of needed program modifications (on intervention
activities), or an aid to developing messages or materials.
2. Key Informant Interview
The questions in the “Key Informant Interview ” form can be seen in Figure 29. Note that some of the questions
and answers are similar to those for focus groups.
What existing instrument will be used for the interview? If there is no existing instrument,
please describe the main topic(s) and question(s) for the interview.
Most likely, your program has to develop its own instrument for the key informant interview. The key informant
interview is more flexible than the focus group in its aspect of allowing multiple topics. It is preferable that all
the questions and topics are related so the informant has the knowledge of all your inquiries. The topics can
be related to the planning, as well as monitoring, of intervention activities.
How many waves of the interviews will be conducted?
Key informant interviews are often part of an in-depth needs assessment, but can be conducted in multiple
waves. The purpose of two or more waves is to compare responses before and after intervention in order to
determine if there is a difference.
OTIS Evaluation Guide • March 2007
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