I need to put a budget together for university research. Participants will be limited English speakers therefore their maybe translation cost, recording, transcribing? Really not sure what else I need to include and what these items may cost. I’m considering 3 groups of 15 and again no sure if these groups are to large. I would really love some advice so we don’t undercharge. Also what complications should I watch out for?

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Jay’s Answer: Running a focus group requires a fair bit of skill, since it’s easy to have the group basically come to agreement on something (bias) especially based on the group’s facilitator ability. You may be better served by doing 1-on-1 interviews (of 15 mins each). It takes less time, you get information that may not come up in a group setting, and can focus better on their questions/needs/concerns/thoughts.