Careers and Employability

Focus Groups

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Focus groups are feedback sessions in which a small group of selected participants are asked to answer questions, discuss topics and brainstorm solutions to existing issues.

These sessions are led by staff or students, and targeted to a certain type of student (e.g. belonging to a particular course, or a certain age, from a particular background) to address concerns specific to them.

Taking part in a focus group lets you:

  • play an integral role in the teaching and extra-curricular development of UQ
  • learn how research and evaluation is conducted in a professional setting.

Organise a focus group

Focus groups are a great way to gain student opinion as they provide detailed and robust feedback. However, they are not the only method of getting feedback.

Before organising one, it is a good idea to ask yourself.

  • Who's my audience and how am I going to reach them (email, social media etc)?
  • Is the timing of my event appropriate for my target audience?
  • What incentives can I offer to participants (i.e. gift vouchers, free food etc)?
  • Is a focus group the right approach?
  • Would a survey or more informal feedback sessions be more appropriate?
  • Is there a more creative way to gain this student input?

Further reading

Check out the Student Voice Guide for tips on making best of student voice platforms to get feedback.

You can also read through our tips on marketing for ideas on how to start advertising a voice activation to learn the best ways to recruit for a focus group.