The use of focus groups in cultural ecosystem services research: a systematic review

Focus groups are an increasingly popular method for eliciting non-material values and cultural ecosystem services (CES) in the context of studying human–nature relationships. We conducted a systematic review of the literature with the aim of exploring where and how focus groups were used in the research into CES. Furthermore, we aimed to highlight good practices and potential caveats of the use of the focus groups method with respect to recommendations in methodological literature. We employed an inclusive CES classification framework and observed that focus groups were mostly used to research Recreation, Aesthetics, and Education categories. The review also discovered insufficient reporting and methodological inconsistencies in some of the studies. We provide suggestions for more robust and trustworthy applications of the focus group method, which can advance both research in this field and the implementation of the ecosystem services concept in the future.