“The more official, the less I believe”: Using focus groups to explore public opinion formation in politically polarized contexts

Introduction: Public opinion studies have traditionally relied on survey analyses. However, a qualitative approach is needed to address opinion formation's multidimensional and contextual nature. In this study, we argue that focus groups are a technique that addresses these unique challenges. Methods: We test this argument by looking at the case of Chile, a country marked by a streak of eight elections in three years, including two national referendums for a constitutional proposal. In this politically polarized setting, and over the course of the latter election year, we conducted 10 focus groups comprising a diverse sample in terms of gender, age, socioeconomic status, and occupation. As participants shared news diets, political views, and values, data suggest a tendency to independently verify information regardless of the source, and highly influenced by their close ones. Results: From a methodological perspective, our findings show that focus groups enable the assessment of the context-situated opinion formation process, reveal emerging themes, and promote open discussion. These results also reflect the multifaceted nature of public opinion formation in a dynamic media landscape and can inform other countries undergoing a crisis of institutional legitimacy.