Steps Involved in Planning a Qualitative Focus Group Research Project
Qualitative research uncovers insights typically unavailable in a field survey. You can gain in-depth information on customers’ thought processes as they decide which products and services to buy, or explore ways to reach consensus on an issue in the office. Participants can play off each other’s ideas and build momentum to create or flesh out concepts no single individual could develop alone. This list of steps will ensure your focus group research project delivers good value for your research dollar.
Clearly Defined Objectives
Qualitative research explores issues to help you understand the reasons behind certain actions. Take advantage of the exploratory nature of qualitative research to not only address specific objectives but other factors that may impact those objectives. Create a list of defined issues (or objectives), the information you wish to gain regarding those issues and how you will use the information gathered to bring about a desired result.
The objectives should clarify who should participate in the focus groups. Develop a screener, or a short survey used to identify and invite people who match the criteria developed from the scope of the project. The participants you select should be similar to one another: close in age, have a common interest, belong to similar organizations, etc. Participants too dissimilar from one another may inhibit each other from opening up and focusing on the topic at hand, or ‘scatter’ the focus of the groups by interjecting viewpoints too far afield from what you intend to explore.
A Suitable Venue
Focus group facilities must provide a comfortable site that places participants at ease so they feel free to open up. Adequate air conditioning, heating and lighting, light refreshments, and comfortable seating all contribute to setting the tone for a successful focus group. The locale also is important; the venue should be located in a place people are familiar with, preferably centrally located to the participants from home or work to make it easier for them to agree to participate. Focus group facilities provide a comprehensive solution to executing focus groups, from recruiting participants to hosting the event (including rooms with recording equipment and a host with food). However, you could conduct the focus group at an alternative setting, such as a conference center or restaurant banquet room, or even at a setting that mimics the behavior you want to explore, like a mock shopping aisle or a test assembly line.
There are two equally important guides for a focus group: the moderator and the script. The moderator does not need intimate knowledge of the industry or topic at hand; you could even argue for a moderator completely unencumbered by insider knowledge. Their job is to control the participants and keep them on task to explore the topic; the only ‘experts’ in the room for that session are the participants themselves. Also, the script is really more of an outline, a very fluid document that includes the overall objectives and general topics to discuss, usually in the form of open questions to kickstart the conversation. If a group really starts generating good discussion on a certain subject that pertains to the overall objectives, a good moderator will let the conversation flow along that channel for as long as it proves fruitful, and will not feel constrained to cover every question on every topic in the outline.
Building on two decades of experience in market research and business writing, John T. Williams sorts through the mix of information, audience and channel, carving out concise, coherent content from raw intel to help clients overcome communications challenges.