Homogeneity of Focus Groups as a Pathway to Successful Research Findings? Methodological Notes from the Fieldwork

The paper approaches the topic of sampling in the qualitative research design. Particular attention is paid to the composition of the focus groups in two important aspects: the homogeneity of the participants in terms of their positions in socio-occupational hierarchy and the pre-existing relations among the participants in the single group. The latter issue is closely and directly intertwined with the former, in the case when the informants are approached in their institutional setting, and the research is conducted in a relatively small community. These problems are discussed in reference to the body of available methodological studies. The example of the research undertaken in aforementioned circumstances is subsequently presented to advocate the homogeneous composition of the focus groups while reconstructing the collective viewpoints of representatives of a particular level of public administrations. Avoidance of power relations within the groups proved profitable and effective. Substantial differences between the groups were easily identifiable in spite of the pre-existing relations among participants, which were unavoidable in this very case.