Transcript Conducting a Focus Group Presented to the Environmental Strategies Task Force at UNO October 20, 2006 Birud Sindhav Associate Professor of Marketing College of Business.

Conducting a Focus Group
Presented to the Environmental Strategies Task Force at UNO
October 20, 2006
Birud Sindhav
Associate Professor of Marketing
College of Business Administration
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Omaha, NE 68182
Focus Group Basics
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6-12 participants and a moderator
Roundtable
One-way mirror, client viewing room
Audio-Video recording
Discussion Guide
Strength: Energy generated by participants
feeding off of each other’s comments
• Emergent themes
• “Swiss Army Knife”
Moderator’s Role
• You are there to moderate, not to guide!
• Make sure no one dominates
– Ask interrupters: “hold your thoughts for a moment”
– “The jumbled conversation will be difficult to hear on
the tape”
• Gently nudge those who are silent for
participation. Read their body language
– (After watching Bob sharking his head in disbelief or
seeing that he is gently smiling) “Bob, you seem to
disagree with Jeff’s comment. Could you tell us why?”
• Keep discussion focused on the topic, yet,
preserve its spontaneous nature
Introduction: Let them know at the outset that…
• the aim is not to find out how much they know
about the topic, rather, to find out their POBA
(Perceptions, Opinions, Beliefs, Attitudes)
• People have different views
• Respect other’s opinion and do express your
own
• Need honest opinions rather than bland positive
comments
• No right or wrong answers
• Do not cut others off
• Confidentiality concerns
Moderator’s Goals
• Produce Informality
• Produce Participation
• Produce Opinions
Moderator’s Goals: Produce
Informality
• Go around the table, let them introduce
themselves
• Use informal words
– Use “oh” to acknowledge what you heard.
Use idiomatic and slang terms
• Example:
– “The objective of today’s focus group is to discuss how
we can go about increasing diversity on campus”
Versus
– “We will chat about how to have more minority students
on campus”
Moderator’s Goals: Produce
Informality
• Be Informal at the very outset
– “I will be pestering the living daylights out of you”
• Include pauses and hesitations
• Body language of the moderator
– Snapping fingers, waving hands
• Provide food/drinks (to be consumed during
conversation)
• Display warmth and empathy, laugh with the
participants!
Moderator’s Goals: Produce
Participation
• Ask questions requiring elaboration at the
start of the new topic
• Rephrase what they said to make sure you
understand them and to demonstrate your
interest
Moderator’s Goals: Produce
Opinions
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Do a quick poll
Ask them to cast a vote
Ask them to rank
Ask them “What if” questions
If need be, take a brief break
Moderator’s Goals: Produce
Opinions
• When the talk is slow moving and involvement
level is low, ask for evaluations: “What do you
think about the UNO policy of not accepting the
core courses if done at Bellevue University”?
• If you want to slow down the discussion, ask for
descriptions.
• If participants seem hesitant, ask projective
questions: “What if a business etiquette class is
mandatory at the business school?”
• If the discussion is drifting in an unwanted
direction, use mms, laugh, ask new question,
ask question to a new person
Note Taking
• Reproduce a sitting chart with names
• Contains quotes, paraphrased quotes,
summary points, themes, questions, big
ideas that affect the study, observation on
body language
• Test the recording equipment beforehand.
Keep extra tapes, microphones, batteries,
and extension cord handy.
Standardized Report Taking Form
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Date:
Location:
Names, and Category of Participants
Moderator Name
• Comments and
Observations
• Notable Quotes
• Summary and Key Points