Group interviews, often called focus groups, are a really useful way of helping students understand both sociological methods and substantive issues such as inequality. This activity is designed for Cambridge OCR A Level Sociology and gives students the chance to explore attitudes to four major forms of inequality: class, gender, age and ethnicity. At the same time, it helps them experience the practical strengths and limitations of group interviews for themselves.

The activity works well because students are not just learning about focus groups in the abstract. They are actually taking part in one, planning questions, managing group dynamics, recording responses and reflecting on the quality of the data produced. It is also a strong way to link Theory and Methods with core sociological themes about power, identity and social differences.

The aim of the activity

Students will work in groups to carry out a short focus group investigation into attitudes towards inequality. Each class group is assigned one area:

• Class inequality
• Gender inequality
• Age inequality
• Ethnic inequality

Within each group, students take on different research roles so that they experience the method from different perspectives.

How to organise the class

Split the class into four main groups, with each group investigating one form of inequality.

Within each research group, students should be given roles:

• Interviewer / moderator – leads the discussion, introduces the topic, asks questions and keeps the group focused
• Note-taker / observer – records key ideas, moments of agreement or disagreement, and any interesting group dynamics
• Focus group participants – contribute to the discussion from an assigned perspective within the inequality category

This structure helps students see that sociological research involves planning, organisation and role allocation, not just asking a few questions.

Suggested participant roles

To make discussion more focused, each focus group member should be assigned a particular angle or social position to represent. These roles do not have to reflect students’ real lives. They are simply prompts to help generate sociological discussion.

1. Class inequality group

Participants could represent:

• upper class perspective
• middle class perspective
• working class perspective
• someone experiencing poverty or low pay
• someone who believes class no longer matters

2. Gender inequality group

Participants could represent:

• male experiences of inequality
• female experiences of inequality
• someone focusing on workplace inequality
• someone focusing on family roles and expectations
• someone who argues gender equality has mostly been achieved

3. Age inequality group

Participants could represent:

• young people facing stereotyping
• older people facing exclusion or ageism
• a middle-aged employer making decisions
• someone discussing media representations of age
• someone who believes age inequalities are exaggerated

4. Ethnic inequality group

Participants could represent:

• someone discussing racism in education
• someone discussing racism in employment
• someone discussing policing and criminal justice
• someone focusing on media representations
• someone who argues society is now meritocratic

These role prompts encourage a range of viewpoints and help students see how focus groups can generate detailed responses, disagreement and debate.

Preparation stage

Before the discussion begins, give students time to prepare in pairs or mini-groups.

The interviewer and note-taker should work together to plan:

• the purpose of the focus group
• 4–6 open questions
• possible follow-up prompts
• how they will make sure everyone gets a chance to speak
• how they will keep notes on both content and group interaction

At the same time, the focus group members should work together to prepare their assigned roles. They should think about:

• what their role believes about inequality
• examples they could use
• whether they agree or disagree with other possible viewpoints
• how they might respond to follow-up questions

This preparation time is important because it reflects real sociological research. Group interviews are not spontaneous chats. Researchers usually have a topic guide, some clear aims and a sense of how discussion will be managed.

Example focus group questions

Students should use open-ended questions rather than simple yes/no questions. For example:

• What do you think are the biggest inequalities in society today?
• Do some social groups have more opportunities than others?
• How far is inequality caused by prejudice, and how far by wider social structures?
• Do the media give a fair picture of inequality?
• Has society become more equal in recent years?
• Which institutions seem to reproduce inequality most strongly?

Follow-up prompts could include:

• Can you give an example?
• Does anyone disagree?
• Why do you think that happens?
• Is that true for all groups?

These kinds of questions usually produce richer data than closed questions, which is one of the main strengths of focus groups.

Two ways to run the activity

Teachers can adapt the activity depending on the confidence of the class.

Whole-class model

Each of the four groups runs its focus group in front of the class, either one at a time or with selected sections shared aloud. This works well for modelling discussion and allowing the whole class to observe group dynamics. It can also generate a strong shared understanding of the four different types of inequality.

Small-group model

Each research group carries out its focus group privately within its own table group. This is often a better option where students may feel anxious about speaking in front of the whole class. It can reduce pressure, encourage quieter students to contribute and create a more relaxed atmosphere.

This flexibility is useful because it also opens up a methodological discussion. Students can reflect on how the setting of the interview might affect the data. A whole-class setting may make some students more self-conscious, while small groups may create more honest and detailed discussion.

Follow-up task

Once all focus groups are complete, students should reflect on both the findings and the method.

They could summarise:

• the main attitudes expressed in their discussion
• points of agreement and disagreement
• whether some voices dominated the group
• whether peer pressure may have influenced responses
• whether the discussion produced depth and detail
• whether the data collected seemed valid, reliable or difficult to compare

A simple class debrief question could be:

Did the focus group help us understand inequality, or did the group setting distort people’s views?

Why this activity is useful

This activity is valuable because it teaches two areas at once.

First, it helps students understand the strengths of group interviews. They can see how focus groups often produce:

• detailed, qualitative data
• spontaneous discussion
• interaction between participants
• opportunities to explore meanings and attitudes in depth

Second, it helps students recognise the limitations of focus groups. In practice, they will often notice that:

• some participants dominate
• quieter students may say little
• people may conform to group views
• sensitive opinions may be hidden
• note-taking can be difficult
• results may be harder to compare systematically

These are much easier for students to understand when they have experienced them directly rather than simply copying them from notes.

The activity is also useful substantively because it develops understanding of different forms of inequality. Students are pushed to think about how class, gender, age and ethnicity shape life chances, treatment and opportunities. It encourages comparison across social groups and helps students apply sociological thinking to real issues.

Final teacher reflection

This is an excellent bridging activity between research methods and social inequalities. It is active, adaptable and sociologically rich. Students are not only learning what a focus group is, but also why a researcher might choose it, what problems might arise, and what kind of evidence it can produce. By linking the method to class, gender, age and ethnic inequality, the task also gives students meaningful content to discuss rather than abstract method talk alone.

Used well, it can become a memorable lesson that helps students recall both the method and the topic in the exam.