Which data collection method involves asking questions directly to individuals or groups to gather opinions and experiences?

• A. Surveys
• B. Focus groups
• C. Secondary data analysis
• D. Administrative records review

Answer: (B)

Focus groups are a qualitative data collection method in which a facilitator guides a discussion with a small group of participants to explore their opinions, experiences, and attitudes. The group setting encourages interaction—participants hear each other’s perspectives, elaborate on ideas, and uncover nuances that individuals might not express in isolation. This direct, collaborative questioning yields rich, in-depth insights about how people think and feel about a topic, which is ideal when you want context and detail from real experiences.

Surveys also involve asking questions directly, but they typically use fixed questions with larger samples to produce mostly numerical data. Secondary data analysis uses already collected information and doesn’t involve asking new questions to people. Administrative records review looks at existing records rather than gathering fresh opinions from participants.