Group interviews
Group interviews, focus groups and panels are similar to one-to-one interviews, with a few tweaks that make conversations with more than one person go smoothly. The size of your group can vary, but discussions tend to be best when there are between 3 and 8 people.
A group interview lets you hear from more people in a shorter period of time. And participants will often build on and give their perspective on other people’s points. This can give you a more rounded picture. But take care, a group interview can lack depth and is more prone to bias.
Follow the general interview guidance for setting up a one-to-one interview. Ask for consent, use a discussion guide, and have a structured way for capturing notes.
Extra tips for group interviews
- With more people it takes longer to go through the questions. But people still get tired, so try to keep the conversation to less than 2 hours
- Include a break if the interview is over an hour
- Give everyone a chance to introduce themselves, so that you understand the context for what they say later
- Set ground rules to make sure everyone is given the chance to speak and that only one person speaks at a time
- Even more so than in one-to-one interview, consider using visual prompts to keep everyone focussed
- Use a code in your notes so you can easily capture who said what