Focus groups : the who, what, when, where and why of their value in legal research

Legal research takes place in an environment where there is continual scrutiny over particular methods of research and the data obtained via these methods. Focus groups have established themselves as a credible method of data collection in many diverse areas of research and are a popular qualitative ethnographic method of undertaking research into legal questions/problems. This paper will examine the theory behind focus groups, their strengths and weaknesses and how they can best be utilised to obtain meaningful data when undertaking legal research questions.