epa focus group primer

8/14/2019 EPA Focus Group Primer

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B as ic Uses o f Foc us Grou ps

To learn what people know, believe, do or plan to doabout certain issues, ideas, or in response toreceiving specific information

To stimulate ideas for developing a product,solving a problem, or defining messages andstrategies for a communication/ communityinvolvement campaign

To "pretest" messages and/or their potentialfeatures (e.g. usability); or pretest preliminarydrafts of materials


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B as ic Uses o f Foc us Grou ps Cont .

To help develop or pretest a survey or Qinstrument (i.e. generate wording of items that

have meaning to participants) -- or explore theresults of a survey or QTo evaluate or interpret what happened with acommunication program, specific materials, or other outreach effortTo explore knowledge, attitudes, perceptionsamong different target groups/segments


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B enef it s o f Foc us Grou ps

Allows for exploration among different groupsProvides an unusual group setting, i.e. all

people are encouraged to speak Allows for exploration of complex behavior and motivationsEnables discussion to generate new

ideas/topics while providing structure Allows you to see information in participantsown words


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Cons iderat ions fo r

Suc cess fu l Foc us Group s 1. Focus group methodology is appropriate for

the questions at hand

2. Screening is thorough and recruiting isresourceful

3. Logistical set-up is convenient andwelcoming for participants

4. Well structured discussion guide


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5. Skilled moderating and a safeenvironment conducive to open discussion

6. Back-up records of the proceedings7. Timely "debriefing" for the moderator and

observers to confer on key findings

8. Analysis and coding have appropriate levelof rigor

Cons iderat ions fo r Suc cessfu l

Focu s Grou ps Cont .


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Determ ining How Many

Groups t o Condu c t Consider who you want to hear from

Degree of homogeneity/heterogeneity

Resources available

Complexity of study and analysis


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Determ ining How Many Groups t o Condu c t Cont .

Rule of thumb 3 to 4 groups with any onetype of participant pending saturation

Saturation is point at which you havediscovered/ heard the range of ideas,opinions, etc. and are not learning newinformationMultiple groups are needed to allow for analysis (i.e. patterns and themes acrossgroups or differences)


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Determ ining How Many Groups t o Condu c t Cont .

In Toms River and Waukegan, we chose to do 3groups eachBoth sites: Officials and Highly Involved citizens

two key stakeholder groups that are likely to havedifferent perspectives and types of involvementToms River: General Public who had shown someinterest in the site (from site mailing list)

Waukegan: Latino Community because other stakeholders had expressed concerns aboutreaching out to this specific segment of thecommunity


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Recr ui tm en t an d Screen ing

For Foc us Grou ps Get a variety of people

Heterogeneous to get range of opinions/ideas

Get the right people - for specific groupsHomogeneous by inclusion/exclusion criteria

Get enough peopleOverbook (20-30% no show rate)


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Recrui tment

1. Develop a recruitment strategy (e.g., sources of referrals, posters/flyers, pre-existing call/mailing lists)

2. Develop a recruitment script to screen and schedule

participants. Be sure recruiters practice the script3. Consider inclusion/exclusion criteria to fit with the

goals of recruitment4. Think about needs for transportation, childcare, etc.5. Develop bridge chart of dates and times of the focus

groups, in preference order


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Recru i tm ent Scr ip t

IntroductionExplanation of project

Screen for inclusion/exclusion criteria - early!Screen for other important characteristicsConfirmation of eligibility

ScheduleFollow up of scheduling Official letter, thenphone call 1-2 days before the group


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Recruitment for Difficult-to-Access Populations

Some populations may be difficult to accessdue to a lack of a population list, low levels of trust, etc. e.g. the Latino community inWaukeganCan use a local liaison someone who hasconnections with the community in questionMay require special attention to location (picka place that they will feel comfortable)May need a special moderator e.g. aSpanish-speaking moderator for a Latinogroup so that everyone can participate fully


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Develop ing th e Disc us s io n Guide

Brainstorm questions & issues with projectteam, based on literature, other studies, etcDraft guideRevise as necessary over course of thegroups(guide is a living document written so as to allow

flexibility and evolve naturally)


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St ruc tur ing Good Ques t ions

Easy to say/sound conversationalClear in meaning/use words participants would usePrimarily open-ended

Usually one dimensional Are sequenced appropriately, from general tospecificMay vary between groups e.g. in Waukegan weopened the Officials and Highly Involved groupsasking What comes to mind when I say WaukeganHarbor Area of Concern? but in Latino group weasked What comes to mind when I say theenvironment of Waukegan?


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Conten t o f Discus s ion Guide

Put participants at easeDevelop context/background understandingfor discussionIntroduce specific questions and materials -they drive the study and should be limited to5-8Summary of advice and commentsFalse close opportunity


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Task s & A ct iv i t ies

BrainstormReading material, watching video, etc.

Answering questionsPerform a taskReact/respond to scenario


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Exam ples of Ques t ion s

What comes to mind when I say [name site]?What types of CI activities are people aware of? Hasanyone participated in any activities? How did you find

out about these activities/opportunities?How would you characterize EPAs role in the site cleanup process? The Community Involvement process?What about Ciba Geigy?


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Exam ples of Ques t ion s Cont .

Can you give me an example of something that wasparticularly successful? How did you determine it wassuccessful?

Are there some parts of the community that are notrepresented in the process or involved? Who?Have your/the communitys preferences or feelingsabout the selected remedy changed at all over time?Why/why not?


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Observing & Note Taking

Be familiar with the discussion guide - review inadvanceIf in same room as where discussion will take place itsimportant to be as unobtrusive as possible. Your presence should not influence the group!Take advantage of the opportunity to really see whatparticipants say. Make note of participants verbal andnon verbal reactions to the discussion

Regardless of the urge do not participate in thediscussion. This includes correcting what you see aserrors or misinformation; or attempting to intervenein the group dynamics


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L og is t ica l Iss u es

Need a safe, inviting spaceBe sure participants can locate the roomwhere the groups will be heldProvide area for sign-in and consentConsider the set up for the audio (and video)equipmentProvide area for refreshments

Arrange the tables and chairs for a focusgroup


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A nalys is s teps /ph ases

Begin with reading transcript and notesCoding: Generating categories, themes, andpatternsTesting: the emerging themes against the dataVerification: Searching for alternativeexplanations of the dataWriting the reportSharing the results


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In terp retat io n o f FG Data

WordsContext

Tone of voice

Body languageSpecificity of the commentInternal Consistency

FrequencyExtensivenessIntensity

What wasnt said?


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Gen erat in g c ateg o ries ,them es, an d p at tern s

Identify salient themes, recurring ideas or language, patterns of belief that link people andsettings

Categories need to be internally consistent butdistinct from one another Can be inductive: derived from reading, useexpressions of participantsCan be analyst-constructed: researcher generatesnot using participants words, applies typology tonaturally occurring variation


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Exam p le of a Cod ing Sch em e

Codes f rom WH and TR: 1. General awareness/concerns 2. Purpose(s)/goals 3. Methods to inform/involve 4. Comments on the various "participants 5. Satisfaction with the involvement process

6. Satisfaction with clean up activities andpreferences

7. Satisfaction with reuse (WH only)

8. Suggestions for improvement


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Using Participants OwnWords

Possibly the most important advantage of focus groups is the ability to use participantsown words to illustrate findingsUsing direct quotes preserves the nuances of what people think


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Using Participants OwnWords Cont .

Examples from Toms River:Some participants were concerned about using public meeting time efficiently: youve been going to these meetings for years, and somebody who just moved into the community gets

up there, and now wants a total explanation of everything thathappened. A lot of the, the speakers will, will, out of courtesy tryto address that, address their question, but the thing is that itsfrustrating for the people sitting there that want the newinformation brought out. Some participants were unhappy with the relationship betweenEPA and Ciba: They should be totally separate. Ill give youan example. I worked in [another] industry, and we had federalinspectors. We were not allowed to associate with them. Theycould not get a cup of coffee from us, anything. After work, theywere not allowed to associate with us. And thats the way itshould be on that site too.


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Examples from Waukegan:Contaminated fish were a concern in the Latino group: I know a familythat in this summer fishes the last summer they showed me some fishthat they got out of the lake. When they opened them the fish were bad.I know what a fish looks like when its fine and good to eat and when it

eats trash. I know what looks like but a lot of people dont. When they itopened it and showed me I said you cant eat these fish and they saidwhy and I said because it has eaten trash and its rotten inside its verydifferent from a fish that is healthy and they said that it was fine eventhough I said they should not eat it but they ate it anyway.

Participants in the Latino group felt that information about the site wasnot accessible for them: What I think is that and this happens a lot inthis area. There is not an equal approach for dispensation of informationto the Hispanic community. There are a lot of things reported and theydont think that a lot of people have access to the information. Somepeople dont have education and that is a problem.


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More examples from Waukegan:Participants thought education was important: But I think theseschool conferences where children at fifth grade are learning --these kids are 10, 11, 12, years old. In six years theyre going tobe voting. But theyre also going home with an award or, youknow, theyre excited about what theyre doing here, and theyretelling their parents. And its the time spent in the saddle up therein that local little neighborhood where we have the trust of theschool community and the neighbors, and I have -- you know,people will stop me and say oh, come here and see what Idid

Participants accepted some responsibility for their level of involvement: the problem is that maybe they say that there isgoing to be a meeting about this, will you come tonight and wesay oh no, I have something else I have to do and so we dontmake it a priority and I see itWe have to participate and showmore interest in these things because no one is going to do it for each one of us. We have to participate in one way or another.


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How Can You Use Results?

As an internal check To modify CIP (add or delete activities)

Policy or Program changesOther???

epa focus group primer

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