You have invited people to a focus group. You have created very insightful questions. You have food delivered (respecting any dietary concerns). You are ready for your focus group, right? While the preparation before the focus group is important, the actual focus group also takes planning and skill. Last month, I wrote about some of the preparations, so this blog addresses some of the intricacies during a focus group.
As people arrive to the great space you have reserved, you want to welcome them to the event and make them comfortable. Encourage them to get the refreshments you have provided. When everyone is settled, you’ll want to welcome the group, explain the purpose, and thank them for taking time to participate. You may also have them sign a consent form that also explains the purpose, how you will use the information, and where they can get further information.
Based on the time you have available and the number of questions you have, you will want to keep track of time. Hopefully, you have balanced the number of people with the time available and the number of questions you want to include. Each of those variables impacts the others.
As the facilitator, you have an important role in the success of the focus group, even if you are speaking the least amount of time. Your body language, eye contact, and verbal cues will encourage or discourage participation. Being comfortable with silence after asking a question will also encourage others to participate. You should also be familiar with phrases such as “tell me more about that” and “Is there anyone else who would like to contribute that hasn’t done so already?” to elicit more clear information or encourage quiet people to speak up. If you do not have experience in this area, you might want to talk to people who have more experience. In case the focus group veers to far away from your purpose, you need to be assertive to get the group back on track.
Ideally, you also have someone who is co-facilitating with you who can keep track of time, run the recorder (if you choose to do that), and take notes not only about the content but also any non-verbal signs from the participants. The co-facilitator can also give you signals about moving on when you are short on time or engaging other participants.
Asking questions is a skill in itself. In a structured or semi-structured focus group, you have a road map of what you want to know. When you first start with the questions (after doing introductions if appropriate), you probably want to ask something fairly easy, before moving on to deeper or more challenging questions. It’s helpful to be familiar with the questions and purpose, in case participants are confused by the questions. You can re-state the question in a different way that makes sense to them. At the same time, you do not want to be so verbose as to run on or bias participants to answer a particular way.
At the end of the time, you definitely want to thank people for their time and reiterate who to contact with questions. If you have recorded the session, you will want to explain how you will secure the data and ensure confidentiality or anonymity (if you are).
Focus groups are a great way to collect information about experiences, opinions, and ideas. As with any assessment technique, they have advantages and disadvantage in terms of ease, time, resources needed, and analysis. There are numerous books, articles, and videos about focus group best practices. While they may be challenging at first, they get easier with practice.