Dilemmas of focus group recruitment and implementation: a pilot perspective

In this paper, Isis Lioba Howatson-Jones reviews some of the dilemmas experienced in arranging focus groups, particularly for the novice researcher and draws upon a pilot research project on qualified nurses' learning as illustration. The paper explores ways of overcoming recruitment and method issues during the pilot phase of a study, and presents a number of recommendations for the practice and conduct of focus groups.