In the case of pre-existing groups, there are several key questions: whether
they are formal or informal (as in legally registered vs. family and friends);
whether membership and contributions are voluntary or coerced; whether
the group represents the community as a whole or specific segments thereof
(by gender, class, ethnicity, religion, occupation, location); whether they are
traditional or recently initiated; whether they are internally or externally
organized; and whether they are perennial, multi-purpose organizations or
were formed to accomplish a specific task. If researchers misunderstand the
purpose or composition of a participating group it can bias the research
results and distort the quality and distribution of participation within the
community.