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What about N? A methodological study of sample-size reporting in focus group studies
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Focus group studies are increasingly published in health related journals, but we know little about how researchers use this method, particularly how they determine the number of focus groups to conduct. The methodological literature commonly advises researchers to follow principles of data saturation, although practical advise on how to do this is lacking. Our objectives were firstly, to describe the current status of sample size in focus group studies reported in health journals. Secondly, to assess whether and how researchers explain the number of focus groups they carry out. METHODS: We searched PubMed for studies that had used focus groups and that had been published in open access journals during 2008, and extracted data on the number of focus groups and on any explanation authors gave for this number. We also did a qualitative assessment of the papers with regard to how number of groups was explained and discussed. RESULTS: We identified 220 papers published in 117 journals. In these papers insufficient reporting of sample sizes was common. The number of focus groups conducted varied greatly (mean 8.4, median 5, range 1 to 96). Thirty seven (17%) studies attempted to explain the number of groups. Six studies referred to rules of thumb in the literature, three stated that they were unable to organize more groups for practical reasons, while 28 studies stated that they had reached a point of saturation. Among those stating that they had reached a point of saturation, several appeared not to have followed principles from grounded theory where data collection and analysis is an iterative process until saturation is reached. Studies with high numbers of focus groups did not offer explanations for number of groups. Too much data as a study weakness was not an issue discussed in any of the reviewed papers. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these findings we suggest that journals adopt more stringent requirements for focus group method reporting. The often poor and inconsistent reporting seen in these studies may also reflect the lack of clear, evidence-based guidance about deciding on sample size. More empirical research is needed to develop focus group methodology.
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“More participants may be recruited in additional focus groups and/or interviews until saturation is met in line with established recommendations for focus group thematic analysis.72”
From Novel ACT-based eHealth psychoeducational intervention for students with mental distress: A study protocol for a mixed-methodology pilot trial (2019) · cites this paper as [72]
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Spencer, C., & Bandy, K. (2018) · American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · doi:10.5688/ajpe6292 · Cited by 2
“A sample size of approximately 18 students (25% of the class) was chosen a priori, with a goal of interviewing until no new or relevant information was discovered.(14) Of the 73 students in the class, 20% (15) of APPE students were assigned a rotation within an HIV clinic; therefore, we aimed to survey no more than 15…”
Roze, A. M., Samsuddin, N., Razali, A., Yusof, M. Z., Rahman, N. A. A., Sidek, S., Mahmood, N. A. K. N., Mohamed, N. M. N. N., & Hair, A. F. A. (2021) · Pertanika journal of social science & humanities · doi:10.47836/pjssh.29.2.14 · Cited by 2
Development of an Extended-Reality (XR)-Based Intervention to Treat Adolescent Obesity
Malik, N., do Prado, W. L., Lappan, S. N., Popescu, M., Haddock, B. L., & Hill, J. O. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19074264 · Cited by 2
“Based on past experience, we anticipate being able to reach data saturation with three sessions for each group [57,58].”
BackgroundEngaging Parents of Fragile Infants in the Design and Appraisal of Health Literature
Wyles, C. L., Gephart, S. M., & Nunez, F. (2022) · The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing · doi:10.1097/jpn.0000000000000644 · Cited by 2
Yeen, C. L. S., Basiruddin, R. B., Ali, Z. M., & Shah, D. R. S. I. (2023) · Journal of Social Service Research · doi:10.1080/01488376.2023.2269214 · Cited by 2
“It is evident that when FGDs have reached their saturation point, data collection can come to a stop (Carlsen & Claire, 2011).”
BackgroundStrategies to Minimize the Impact of Supply Chain Risk on Business Performance
Opata, J. (2015) · ScholarWorks (Walden University) · Cited by 2
Managing Negative Comments Posted on Social Media
Wagner, D. (2015) · ScholarWorks (Walden University) · Cited by 2
Tamang, L. (2015) · The Sydney eScholarship Repository (The University of Sydney) · Cited by 2
Building and Maintaining Trust in Virtual Teams as a Competitive Strategy
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Allen, M. J., Doran, R., Brain, D., Powell, E. E., O’Beirne, J. P., Valery, P. C., Barnett, A. G., Hettiarachchi, R. M., Hickman, I. J., & Kularatna, S. (2022) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-2232430/v1 · Cited by 2
Dalal, D. K., Randall, J. G., Danna, G. C., & Ash, J. (2023) · Personnel Assessment and Decisions · doi:10.25035/pad.2023.01.005 · Cited by 1
Mandelbaum, J., & Harrison, S. E. (2022) · Southern Medical Journal · doi:10.14423/smj.0000000000001468 · Cited by 1
“Qualitative methodologists have suggested that two focus groups may be sufficient to provide thematic saturation,(46) particularly in primary care research.(47) Conducting additional focus groups in the future, including at other geographic locations and with clinicians in other clinic settings, would be helpful to fu…”
BackgroundTrujillo-Trujillo, J., Cárdenas, M., Sánchez, S., Zamora, S. M., Porras, A., de Mesa, C. L., Parra, L. M. B., Lizarazú, M. C. B., Miller, H., & Silva, J. C. (2023) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph20054632 · Cited by 1
“The number of focus groups and the minimum and maximum number of participants in each group complied with the existing standards suggested for homogeneous populations, looking for the representativeness and information saturation described in the literature [12,16,17].”
BackgroundPerera, P. K. U., Jayasinghe, J. K. V. M., Nanayakkara, N. A. P. S. R., & Mahaliyanaarachchi, R. P. (2023) · South Asian Journal of Tourism and Hospitality · doi:10.4038/sajth.v3i1.58 · Cited by 1
de Menezes, C. C., Rangel, A. S., Leão, A. T. T., & de Barros, M. C. M. (2024) · Interface - Comunicação Saúde Educação · doi:10.1590/interface.230291 · Cited by 1
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Wong, C. I., & Li, Y. (2024) · Open Journal of Modern Linguistics · doi:10.4236/ojml.2024.144038 · Cited by 1
Singh, S. (2024) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-024-19631-2 · Cited by 1
“Discussions were conducted till saturation was achieved [39].”
BackgroundKrawcyk, R. S., Amdi, K. V., Kruuse, C. R., & Thomsen, T. (2025) · Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine · doi:10.2340/jrm.v57.42881 · Cited by 1
“We planned for 3 focus-group interviews (2 with patients and 1 with municipal physiotherapists) with 4–8 informants in each focus-group interview, leaving room for dropouts without compromising group dynamics and the possibility for everybody to express their opinion (11).”
Patient preference for treatment of an endometrioma, a qualitative study
Veth, V. B., Keukens, A., Schreurs, A. M. F., Bongers, M. Y., Mijatovic, V., & Maas, J. W. M. (2025) · European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology · doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2025.113999 · Cited by 1
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Metadata
- Authors
- Carlsen, B., & Glenton, C.
- Affiliations
- SINTEF (NO)
- Corresponding author
- Carlsen, Benedicte
- ORCID
- Glenton, Claire
- Venue
- BMC Medical Research Methodology
- Published
- 2011-03-11
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 26-26
- ISSN
- 1471-2288 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3061958
- OpenAlex
- W2013335946
- Cited by
- 670
- References
- 72
- Citations by year
- 2026: 29 · 2025: 47 · 2024: 53 · 2023: 53 · 2022: 68 · 2021: 52 · 2020: 66 · 2019: 56 · 2018: 50 · 2017: 52 · 2016: 40 · 2015: 29 · 2014: 24 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 16
- FWCI
- 80.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- BMC Medical Research Methodology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Bergen Open Research Archive (BORA) (University of Bergen) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Universitetet i Bergen
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Focus Groups and Qualitative Methods
- Social Sciences › Education › Qualitative Research Methods and Applications
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Delphi Technique in Research
- Keywords
- focus groups, sample size reporting, data saturation, grounded theory, qualitative research methodology, reporting guidelines, health journals, methodological quality
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Research Design, Focus Groups, Sample Size, PubMed
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