HOW TO CONDUCT FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION

INTRODUCTION

A focus group is a small group of six to ten people led through an open discussion by a skilled moderator. The group needs to be large enough to generate rich discussion but not so large that some participants are left out.

Focus group is not:

• A debate
• Group therapy
• Conflict resolution
• An opportunity to collaborate
• A promotional opportunity
• An educational session
  NOTE: Focus group participants won’t have a chance to see the questions they are being asked. So, to make sure they understand and can fully respond to the questions posed, questions should be:
  1. Short and to the point
  2. Focused on one dimension each 
  3. Unambiguously worded 
  4. Open-ended or sentence completion types
  5. Non-threatening or embarrassing words in a way that they cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” answer (use “why” and “how” instead)
  
  
  Consider the following in establishing selection criteria for individual groups:
  1.      Gender – Will both men and women feel comfortable discussing the topic in a mixed gender group?
  2.      Age – How intimidating would it be for a young person to be included in a group of older adults? Or vice versa?
  3.      Power – Would a teacher be likely to make candid remarks in a group where his/her principal is also a participant?
  4.      Cliques – How influential might three cheerleaders be in a group of high school peers?
  Specifically, the focus group session concentrates on:
  1.   Gathering opinions, beliefs, and attitudes about issues of interest to your organization
  2. Testing your assumption 
  3. Encouraging discussion about a particular topic  
  4. Building excitement from spontaneous combination of participants' comment 
  5. Providing an opportunity to learn more about a topic or issue

A PICTURE SHOWING PEOPLE CONDUCTING FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION.

 
10 Steps to Successful Focus Groups

Group works collaboratively with its clients through these ten steps to meet each client’s unique research needs:

1.  Define objectives – What are you trying to find out?  What decisions will be made as a result of the information discovered? What is the primary, most critical objective?  What are the secondary objectives? 

 2.  Identify specific information needs – What specific questions do you need answered?  What do you already know and where are the gaps in your information?  What hypotheses do you have about the attitudes and behavior of your target audience? Think ahead to implementation of decisions; what else will you need to know?  What marketing materials/proto‐types do you have to show respondents for feedback?  

 3.  Determine number, composition and location of groups 

 4. Recruit the right respondents – Who is the target audience?  What kind of person is best able to give you the information you need?  Group Works will help you define the screening requirements and  will design a questionnaire for the recruiters to use in screening participants to get the most appropriate  focus group respondents for each research project.  Group Works supervises the recruiting process and adjusts specifications/strategies as needed. 

 5. Select and manage the field services – Group Works identifies the best choice field services in each market and handles all arrangements for focus group facility rental and recruiting services. This includes scheduling facility rental, managing recruiting, ordering equipment, food and respondent incentives.   

6. Develop discussion guide – Group Works will develop discussion guide, review with client and revise as necessary. Group moderator will work with client to determine what materials will be used to stimulate discussion (concept boards, list of attributes, sample marketing materials, etc.) 

 7. Moderate groups – Group Moderator will facilitate focus group discussion, keep discussion flowing, draw out respondents, probe important areas, etc. 

 8. De‐brief viewers – Group Moderator will discuss observations with viewers immediately after groups. 

 9. Analyze results and prepare written summary – Group moderator will review tapes and notes from focus groups and prepare summary.  Several different reporting options are available according to client needs. 

 10. Present results and discusses marketing implications – Group moderator will review key findings with management team and discuss implications.

THIS IS VIDEO SHOWING PEOPLE DOING FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION
 

THIS IS AN AUDION OF HOW PEOPLE ARE DOING FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION




this is a link of a pdf showing how to carry a focus group discussion