Conducting Focus Groups with Latino Populations: Lessons from the Field*

• Author: Adriana J. Umaña‐Taylor,Mayra Y. Bámaca
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-2445.2004.0002.x
• Published date: 01 April 2004
• Date: 01 April 2004

Conducting Focus Groups with Latino Populations: Lessons

from the Field*

Adriana J. Uman

˜a-Taylor** and Mayra Y. Ba

´maca

We explore the use of focus groups with Latino families. Based on our work with Colombian, Guatemalan, Mexican, and

Puerto Rican mothers, we review the factors that make this methodology particularly useful for working with these families.

In addition, we provide a number of strategies for making the use of focus groups with Latino populations successful.

These strategies can be broadly applied to practical aspects of working with Latino populations, as well as in research settings.

Published scholarship on Latino families is limited, and as a

result, our knowledge (theoretical and empirical)with regard

to Latino families is lacking (Massey, Zambrana, & Alonzo

Bell, 1995). For example, a keyword search via Psycinfo indicated

that the Journal of Marriage and Family, one of the leading

journals in family studies, has published 41 articles that include

Latinos, out of the 2,134 articles published since 1964. Researchers

speculate that one outcome of this situation is that scholars attempt

to accommodate and apply existing research to Latinos rather than

explore the meanings and conceptualizations that Latinos attach to

psychological constructs (Marin & Marin, 1991). In an effort to

develop theory, scholars have begun to employ qualitative methods,

specifically exploratory techniques, to better understand the experi-

ences of Latinos. Particularly useful for these purposes is focus

group methodology. Here we discuss the use of focus groups with

Latino populations. Specifically, we provide a brief overview of this

methodology and its usefulness for studying Latino families, and

we discuss practical issues in using this method with Latinos.

Throughout, we provide examples from our own focus group

research with Colombian, Guatemalan, Mexican, and Puerto

Rican mothers that was designed to explore the process of ethnic

socialization among Latino adolescents from parents’ perspectives.

Although this was our first project that involved both Latinos and

focus group methodology, we each have considerable experience

conducting research and outreach with Latinos. The first author has

directed two large research projects on Latino adolescents’ ethnic

identity, one of which involves a 4-year longitudinal design. The

second author has extensive experience interviewing Latino

families in the United States and in Guatemala, and providing

outreach services to Latino children and their families in

educational settings.

Focus Group Methodology

Focus groups can best be described as group interviews in

which group interaction and discussion centers on a topic speci-

fied by the researcher (Morgan, 1988). The group interaction is

expected to produce insights that would be difficult to obtain

through individual interviews (Lengua et al., 1992; Morgan,

1988). Recently, there has been phenomenal growth in the use

of focus groups in social science research (Morgan, 2002). This

growth is likely due to the strengths of this method, which lends

itself particularly well to social science research.

Specifically, focus groups can be used for exploratory or

confirmatory purposes (Stewart & Shamdasani, 1990).In

addition, they are particularly useful for obtaining in-depth

information in a relatively new and or understudied area, for

generating hypotheses, and for evaluating new populations

(Morgan, 1988; Stewart & Shamdasani). They also offer a

means with which to obtain in-depth information from represen-

tatives of a target audience in a setting that encourages

discussion (Crocket, Heller, Merkel, & Peterson, 1990). Finally,

they provide an opportunity to gather large amounts of data in a

relatively short time frame and typically at a lower cost than with

other qualitative research methods (Morgan).

In addition to these strengths, additional strengths of focus

group methods make them particularly useful for research with

Latino populations. First, focus groups are useful when there is a

power differential between participants and decision makers.

Because participants in a focus group setting are accompanied

by peers and others who may share similar experiences, they feel

more secure and willing to share their feelings and experiences

(Morgan & Krueger, 1993). Thus, focus groups are particularly

useful with groups that historically have had limited power and

influence (Morgan & Krueger). Because members of under-

represented groups, such as ethnic minorities, could be intimi-

dated by the status of a researcher, this concern is particularly

salient in work with Latinos. Researchers can diffuse intimida-

tion by providing a setting in which respondents feel that they

are the experts and that the researcher seeks to learn from them.

With other Latinos in a focus group setting, respondents may

believe that their experiences are valid and worth sharing.

Second, when there is a lack of trust between participants

and researchers, certain research methods (e.g., surveys or ques-

tionnaires)can be ineffective. Members of underrepresented

*This work was partially supported by the Pampered Chef Family Resilience Program

and the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, under Project 45-353. The authors also would like to thank Jennifer Hardesty for

her comments on an earlier draft of this paper.

**University of Illinois, Department of Human and Community Development,

Urbana, IL 61801 (umana@uiuc.edu).

Key Words: families, focus groups, Latino, mothers.

(Family Relations, 2004, 53, 261–272)

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