The focus group interview is an established consumer research tool that remains controversial fifty years after its introduction by Merton and Kendall. It is a technique vigorously defended by some while vehemently attacked by others. In spite of that, the business of conducting, supplying and supporting focus groups has grown over the years to become 15% in korea marketing research industry last year.
This study contrasts focus group interviews(FGI) and 1:1 individual depth interviews as techniques for investigating consumer phenomenology. FGI are preferred when collective phenomena are of primary interest, while individual interviews are preferred when individual-level phenomena are the focus of concern.
This study is conducted experimental design to identify and improve information of FGI contrast with 1:1 depth interview. FGI's information is the result of selection and volume effects, social comparison process in group dynamics.
Under the same goal of understanding consumer phenomenology, not all qualitative methods are created equal. FGI show higher rate than one-on-on depth interviews in the upper rank response. On the contrary, 1:1 interviews show higer rate than FGI in the lower rank response.
The upper and lower rank response's rates vary how to manage FGI especially with group size, participant's degree of freedom to speech, and moderator's degree of intervention.
Taking this results into consideration to manage the FGI efficiently, to carry the research objective is exploratory point of view, group size is small, participants' speech is weaken and moderator's intervention is strong.
In the point of phenomenological view's the FGI manage opposed to that and the maximize group size is 9 persons per group in Korea.
