<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> A focus group is a small, but demographically diverse group of people and whose reactions are studied especially in market research or political analysis in guided or open discussions about a new product or something else to determine the reactions that can be expected from a larger population . It is a form of qualitative research consisting of interviews in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging . Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members . During this process, the researcher either takes notes or records the vital points he or she is getting from the group . Researchers should select members of the focus group carefully for effective and authoritative responses . </P> <P> Focus groups have a long history and were used during the Second World War (1939 - 1945) to examine the effectiveness of propaganda . Associate director sociologist Robert K. Merton set up focus groups at the Bureau of Applied Social Research in the USA prior to 1976 . Psychologist and marketing expert Ernest Dichter coined the term "focus group" itself before his death in 1991 . </P>

A focus group is typically classified as a type of