School of Medicine
Special Topic Educational Skills Workshop
Focus Groups for Educational Research and Evaluation

Faculty:

Arianne Teherani, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
Director, Program Evaluation
Office of Medical Education

The purpose of this session will be to introduce a qualitative data collection method called focus groups. Focus groups are a form of interview used in many disciplines to collect participant experiences and perspectives. Learners will learn the principles of and methods for conducting a focus group for educational research and evaluation, will learn how to analyze focus group data, and will practice developing a focus group for a project of their own.
 
At the end of the workshop the participants will be able to:

• Describe a focus group and how focus groups are used in qualitative educational research and evaluation
• Summarize the uses, and benefits and limitations of focus groups for research and evaluation
• Complete an analysis of focus group data
• Experiment with the creation of a focus group instrument and data collection.