Advantages of asynchronous online focus groups and face-to-face focus groups as perceived by child, adolescent and adult participants: a survey study (BMC Research Notes)

Background: Online focus groups (OFGs) are increasingly used as a method of data collection. Although their advantages for research have repeatedly been described, participants` opinions about OFGs have seldom been studied. We investigated OFG participants` preference for participation in an OFG or a face-to-face focus group (FTF), as well as their perceptions of the advantages of both methods. We also investigated whether any differences exist between the perceptions of child, adolescent, and adult participants. Methods: Participants` opinions were studied by means of a questionnaire completed by 284 persons (aged 8-72 years) after their participation in one of 50 OFGs. The OFGs were conducted between December 2005 and December 2013 as part of 19 separate studies. Chi square tests with p