Template Sections
This page sets out a template and a worked set of questions for writing a focus group discussion (FGD) guide. It is about the guide itself: what the moderator says, how consent is handled and what questions to ask. For when to choose a focus group and who should sit in it, see the focus group discussions entry. The template follows the same structure as the KII guide template and adds what a group needs. One-to-one conversations with well-placed people follow a different logic, covered under key informant interviews.
What Is in the Template
| Section | What goes in it | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Purpose and group profile | Why you are running the group, who is in it, how they were recruited | Record the group code and the date |
| 2. Facilitator notes | Preparation, roles of facilitator and note-taker, session plan, sensitive topics, referral information | Call participants the day before |
| 3. Opening and consent | Welcome script, ground rules, consent questions, attendance and consent record | Individual consent is asked before the session |
| 4. Warm-up activity | One easy round so everyone speaks early | Ask for a nickname or a number, not a full name |
| 5. Discussion questions | Five sections, A to E, each with main questions and probes | Eight to twelve questions in all |
| 6. Closing | Read-back of main points, last question, thanks, what happens next | Check that your summary is right |
| 7. Note-taking sheet | Session record, notes by section, group dynamics | The note-taker leads it |
| 8. Post-session debrief | What surprised you, what to change, any follow-up needed | Do it the same day |
The question sections cover awareness and access, experience of the program, changes and results, barriers and concerns, and improvements. Replace them with your own evaluation questions. A group session should run about 90 to 120 minutes with a break for a long one. The session plan in the template adds up the minutes so the closing is not squeezed.
Moderator Script
Moderator Script and Consent Text
Read the welcome out loud, in the local language, slowly. Replace the bracketed parts.
Welcome, and thank you for coming. My name is [name] and I will lead the discussion. [Name] will take notes. We are working with [organization] to learn how [program] is working for people here. There are no right or wrong answers. We are interested in what you think and have experienced, and different views help us. The discussion will take about [90] minutes, and we will take a break halfway.
Taking part is voluntary. You can choose not to answer any question, and you can leave at any time without giving a reason. Nothing will change in the services you receive. We will not write your name in the report. We would like to record the discussion so we can get your words right, but only if everyone agrees. The recording will be kept safely and deleted after the report is final.
Because this is a group, we cannot control what other people do with what is said. We ask everyone to keep what is said here in this room. Please do not share personal stories you do not want others to hear. If you would like to talk privately about anything, tell us, and we will find a time. Does anyone have questions? Are you all willing to take part? Are you willing to be recorded?
Record consent before the session starts, at registration, individually and out of earshot of others. Asking for agreement in front of the group puts pressure on people to say yes. Someone who declines recording can still take part, and the note-taker should then write by hand. If a person does not want to take part, thank them and let them leave without explanation.
Ground Rules
Offer a starting list and ask the group to add to it, so the rules belong to the group.
- One person speaks at a time
- Every view is welcome, and there are no wrong answers
- We do not repeat outside the room who said what
- Phones silent
- It is fine to disagree politely
- Anyone can pass on a question
Write the extra rules on a flip chart and leave it in view.
Example Questions
Example Questions With Probes
These examples are for a made-up community health volunteer program, with groups of caregivers. Notice that each question invites a group conversation and that the probes check for other views.
| Section | Main question | Probes |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | "Tell us a nickname you like and one thing you enjoy about living here." | None needed |
| Awareness | "How did you first hear about the volunteers?" | "Who else knows about them?" / "Has everyone heard the same?" |
| Access | "When a child is sick, what do families here do first?" | "What do others do?" / "Does it differ for different families?" |
| Experience | "Tell us about a time a volunteer visited a home." | "What happened?" / "What did people think of it?" |
| Experience | "What do you think of how the volunteers talk with families?" | "Can you give an example?" / "Does anyone see it differently?" |
| Changes | "What, if anything, has changed in how families look after sick children?" | "What makes you say that?" / "Is that because of the volunteers or something else?" |
| Barriers | "What makes it hard to use the clinic?" | "How do people deal with that?" / "Who is most affected?" |
| Barriers | "What have people said about the volunteers that worries them?" | "Who said that?" / "How do others feel about it?" |
| Improvements | "If you could change one thing about the program, what would it be?" | "Why that one?" / "What would others choose?" |
| Closing | "What is the most important thing we have not asked?" | "Anyone else?" |
Tips for the group setting:
- Start broad, then narrow. Ask "What do families do?" before "What did you do?" so people can speak about others if they prefer.
- Ask the group, then individuals. "Does anyone see it differently?" draws out the quiet.
- Do not ask for a show of hands on a sensitive question. It reveals who said what.
- Probe agreement. When everyone nods, ask whether anyone has had a different experience.
- Avoid leading questions such as "Hasn't the program made things better?" Ask "What changes have people noticed?"
A group is a poor place for sensitive topics where speaking could put people at risk or where there are big power differences. In that case use key informant or in-depth interviews and see the KII guide template.
If Someone Becomes Upset
Decide this before the session and write it on the facilitator notes page.
- Pause the discussion and offer a short break. Do not press for more.
- The note-taker or a second facilitator stays with the person if they step out and offers to arrange a private talk.
- Offer the referral card (clinic, counseling service or hotline details you have checked beforehand).
- Return to the group only if the person wishes. Never push anyone to continue.
- Record in the debrief that "one participant needed a break", with no name or code.
Confidentiality has limits. If a child may be at risk, follow your organization's child protection rules and tell the group at the start that this is the one exception. For an adult, offer help and share information only with their agreement unless your policy or the law requires otherwise.
Use
Using the Template
You can build a guide online with the FGD guide playbook. Review and adapt every section above to your own evaluation questions, language and ethics approval before use. Afterward, sort the notes with a qualitative codebook, and compare the method with others in surveys vs interviews vs focus groups.