Focus groups

WHAT IS A FOCUS GROUP?

• A focus group is a small-group discussion guided by a trained leader. It is used to learn more about opinions on a designated topic, and then to guide future action.

• A small group of six to ten people led through an open discussion by a skilled moderator

• The ideal amount of time to set aside for a focus group is anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes

• Focus groups are structured around a set of carefully predetermined questions – usually no more than 10 – but the discussion is free-flowing. Ideally, participant comments will stimulate and influence the thinking and sharing of others. Some people even find themselves changing their thoughts and opinions during the group.

• A homogeneous group of strangers comprise the focus group.

• It takes more than one focus group on any one topic to produce valid results – usually three or four.

Examples:A focus group of parents of pre-schoolers meets to discuss child care needs. Parents share their views on local child care programs, and on what could be done to improve them.

HOW ARE FOCUS GROUPS DIFFERENT FROM REGULAR

"GROUPS”• It is focused: The group has a specific

discussion topic. The group's task is to stay on it.• The group has a trained leader, or facilitator. • The group's composition and the group

discussion are carefully planned to create a nonthreatening environment, in which people are free to talk openly.

• Members are actively encouraged to express their own opinions, and also respond to other members, as well as to questions posed by the leader.

• Because focus groups are structured and directed, but also expressive, they can yield a lot of information in a relatively short time.

WHY ARE FOCUS GROUPS USED?

• Focus groups help people learn more about group or community opinions and needs. In this respect, they are similar to needs assessment surveys.

• Nonverbal communications and group interactions can also be observed. Focus groups can therefore get closer to what people are really thinking and feeling.

WHEN SHOULD YOU USE A FOCUS GROUP?

When• Considering the introduction of a new

program or service.• Your main concern is with depth of opinion,

rather than simply with whether people agree or disagree.

• You want to ask questions that can't easily be asked or answered on a written survey.

• You want to supplement the knowledge you can gain from written surveys.

• You have the time, knowledge, and resources to recruit a willing group of focus group participants.

Exercise

Below are several situations when you might want to know more about community

opinions before taking action. How useful would a focus group be in each case?

• A new strain of flu is going around. Half the town seems to be catching it. What should be done about it?

• A wave of break-ins has hit a nearby neighborhood. How can this be stopped?

• A new playground is being planned. What features should go into it?

Logical viewpoints:

• Controlling the flu is not a matter of citizen opinion, but rather of medical facts, and of public health prevention and treatment. A focus group is probably not helpful here.

• Increased police presence may help; but a structured discussion among neighbors might hit upon other useful solutions. A focus group could be quite worthwhile.

• Citizen input is definitely called for here. A focus group could be an ideal way for finding it out.

Preparing for the focus group

Preparing for Focus Groups

1. Decide whether focus groups are appropriate

2.Consider other methods.

3.Decide on the purpose and Recheck goals. Ask:

"Why do I want to conduct a focus group?”

"Why am I doing this?”

"What do I hope to learn?”

Preparing for Focus Groups

4. Recruiting and preparing for participants

• Members should have some similarity. Consider the following in establishing selection criteria for individual groups: age, gender, power.

• Ideally, those invited should be a representative sample of those whose opinions you are concerned about.

• Participant inclusion/exclusion criteria should be established upfront and based on the purpose of the study

Preparing for Focus Groups

4. Recruiting and preparing for participants

• Focus groups participants can be recruited through nomination, random selection, all members of the same group, same role/ job title, volunteers (through flyers)

• Select members who are likely to be participative and reflective

• Select members who don't know each other

• Stress the benefits. Why should people come?

• Once a group of viable recruits has been established, call each one to confirm interest and availability. Give them times and locations of the focus groups and secure verbal confirmation. Tell them you will mail (or email) them a written confirmation and call to remind them two days before the scheduled group

• Over-invite in anticipation of a no-show rate of 10 to 20 percent.

4. Recruiting and preparing for participants

• Devise a form to track invitation phone calls. Include an “Address” box for mailing the confirmation letter and a “Comments” box.

• Tell participants that the focus group will take about one and half to two hours. Give them a starting time that is 15 minutes prior to the actual start of the focus group to allow for filling out necessary paperwork, having a bite to eat, and settling in to the group.

• Arrange for a comfortable room in a convenient location with ample parking.

• Arrange for food. At a minimum, offer a beverage and light snack.

4. Recruiting and preparing for participants

Reduce barriers to attending when possible by offering:

• Evening or weekend groups for those who work during the day

• Transportation or taxi fare• Child care services• Interpreter services• A familiar public setting

4. Recruiting and preparing for participants

5. Decide about incentives.

• Money• Food• Gifts• Opportunity to share opinions• Enjoyable, convenient and easy to

find meeting location• Involvement in an important

research project• Build on existing community, social

or personal relationship

Twelve is the maximum number of questions for any one group.

To be effective, focus group questions should be:• Short and to the point• Focused on one dimension each• Unambiguously worded• Open-ended or sentence completion types• Non-threatening or embarrassing• Worded in a way that they cannot be answered with a

simple “yes” or “no”• General to specific• Use "think back" questions• Encourage participants involvement: , examples, choices,

rating scales, drawings, etc.• Order the questions that will be comfortable for the

participants

6. Prepare the questions

There are three types of focus group questions:

1. Engagement questions: introduce participants to and make them comfortable with the topic of discussion

2. Exploration questions: get to the meat of the discussion

3. Exit question: check to see if anything was missed in the discussion

6. Prepare the questions.

Prepare the questionsexamples

• "What are some of your thoughts about what's going on now?”• "Would you say you are satisfied with the current situation, with the

way things are going on?"(If so) • "What are you satisfied about? Why is that?" (Or, "What's going

well...?")• "Are there things you are dissatisfied with, that you would like to

see changed?" (Or, "What's not going well...?")(If so) • "What are they? Why is that? How should they change? What kinds

of things would you like to see happen?”• "How about this particular aspect (of the topic). What do you think

about that?”• "Are there other recommendations that you have, or suggestions

you would like to make?”• "Are there other things you would like to say before we wind up?

Some "probes", or follow-ups", designed to get more information on a given question:

• "Can you say more about that?”• "Can you give an example?”• "Jane says X. How about others of you. What do

you think?”• "How about you, Joe. [Or, "you folks in the corner

over there...."] Do you have some thoughts on this?”

• "Does anyone else have some thoughts on that?”• Summarize what you think you have heard, and

ask if the group agrees

Some "probes", or follow-ups", designed to get more information on a given question:

• "Can you say more about that?”• "Can you give an example?”• "Jane says X. How about others of you. What do

you think?”• "How about you, Joe. [Or, "you folks in the corner

over there...."] Do you have some thoughts on this?”

• "Does anyone else have some thoughts on that?”• Summarize what you think you have heard, and

ask if the group agrees

Prepare the questionsexamples

Moderator’s traits and skills

• Has experience facilitating groups• Is able to listen and think at the same

time• Believes that all group participants

have something to offer no matter what their education, experience, or background

• Has adequate knowledge of the topic • Objectivity is extremely important• Can listen attentively with sensitivity

and empathy• Uses an Assistant Moderator

•Stays relaxed and sets tone•Introduces and guides the discussion•Is someone the group can relate to but also give authority to•Does NOT participate, or share views, or engage in the discussion•Promotes everyone’s participation•Is non-judgmental and respectful•Gives an appreciative welcome and close that acknowledges the participants for giving their time and ideas

Moderator’s traits and skills

• Operate recording equipment

• Help with equipment & refreshments• Arrange the room• Comes prepared with pens and paper

• Sits in the room during the entire discussion where they can see & hear the participants

– Note: should not sit by the facilitator

• Sketches participant seating arrangement

– Note: might use identifiers other than names• Serves as the timekeeper• Does not join in conversation - avoids nodding or

reaction

Assistant Moderator’s traits and skills

• Identifies themes, follow-up questions, body language, confusion, nonverbal communication (especially when no one is speaking), facial expressions, gestures, signs of agreement, disagreement, frustration, concern, etc.

• Give an oral summary• Debrief with moderator• Give feedback on analysis and reports• Assistant should be a “fly on the wall” during the

discussion and simply observe–If no one knows S/he is there, the job is well done.

Assistant Moderator’s traits and skills

Double-check.

• Review the arrangements. Is everything ready to go?

Conduct the focus group

Beginning the Focus Group Discussion

The facilitator should arrive before the participants, set out the refreshments, and arrange the room so all participants can view one another -- U-shaped seating or all at one table is best.

Recommended introduction pattern: 1.Welcome:

– Introduce moderator and assistant– Thanks everyone for coming today

2.Overview and topic:– Reviews the group’s purpose and goals– Explains how the meeting will proceed, and how members can

contribute– The results will be used for ...– You were selected because

Recommended introduction pattern:

3.Ground rules: • No right or wrong answers, only differing points of view• We're tape recording, one person speaking at a time• comments are confidential• Please speak up so we all can hear you.• We're on a first name basis• You don't need to agree with others, but you must listen

respectfully as others share their views• Rules for cellular phones • My role as moderator will be to guide the discussion• Please let me know if you have any questions

4.Sets the tone by asking an opening question (such as, “tell us a little bit about yourself” or an ice breaker)

5.First question

• Both moderator and assistant moderator are expected to welcome participants, offer them food, help them make their name tags, and direct them in completing pre-group paperwork.

• Name tags should identify participants with a number written largely for anonymous identification of individuals as they make comments.

• At a minimum, all participants should complete a consent form.• It may be important to collect demographic information from

participants if age, gender, or other attributes are important for correlation with focus group findings.

Beginning the Focus Group Discussion

During the Discussion

• Use “Moderator Probes” when needed for clarification

• Facilitate the discussion so that everyone is included

• Avoid sharing own views on a participant’s remarks (including “That’s a good point”) as this response may bias the response of the other participants

• Be aware of how you’re sitting. Make sure that you face everyone in the group and do not start to lean towards one part of the group that seems more animated and engaged.

• Don’t be afraid of silence. Give participants the chance to think about their answers.

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Dealing with challenging participants:

• Self-appointed experts: “Thank you. What do other people think?”

• The dominator: “Let’s have some other comments.”

• The shy participant: Make eye contact; call on them; smile at them.

• The participant who talks very quietly: Ask them to repeat their response more loudly.

During the Discussion

Note Taking• Responsibility of the assistant moderator• Clarity and consistency of note taking• Notes contain different types of information

– Quotes– Key points and themes for each question– Follow-up questions that could be asked– Other factors such as passionate comments,

body language, or non-verbal activity, head nods, physical excitement, eye contact between certain participants, or other clues that would indicate level of agreement, support, or interest

During the Discussion

Closing Steps

When all questions have been asked, ask if anyone has any other comments to make

Summarize key points based on focus group discussion

Have we missed anything? Audio taping ends Tell the group about next steps that will

occur and what they can expect to happen

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Thank the group for coming Give incentives for participation Immediately after all

participants leave, the moderator and assistant moderator debrief while the recorder is still running and label all tapes and notes with the date, time (if more than one group per day), and name of the group.

Closing Steps

Analyzing the data

• Begin by transcribing all focus group tapes and inserting notes into transcribed material where appropriate.

• look closely at the information for themes, trends (comments that seem to appear repeatedly in the data) and surprises (unexpected comments that are worth noting).  Keep in mind that context and tone are just as important as the reiteration of particular words.  If a comment (or a number of comments) seemed to be phrased negatively, elicited emotional responses, or triggered many other comments, that would be worth noting in the analysis

• Themes: perspectives on the topic that were shared by members of the group and are consistently reflected in the recorded comments.

Transcribing Focus Group Interviews:

• Minimize distractions• Identify moderator statements• Type comments word for word• Note special or unusual sounds that could help

analysis. For example, if there is laughter, loud voices, shouting, etc. be sure that these are noted in the transcript in parenthesis. Make note if someone was interrupted.

• Allow sufficient time

Analyzing the data

When analyzing focus group data consider . .

• CONTEXT: Participant responses were triggered by a stimulus--a question asked by the moderator or a comment from another participant.

• INTERNAL CONSISTENCY: Participants in focus groups change and sometimes even reverse their positions after interaction with others.

Analyzing the data

• FREQUENCY OR EXTENSIVENESS: Some topics are discussed more by participants (extensiveness) and also some comments are made more often (frequency) than others

• INTENSITY: Occasionally participants talk about a topic with a special intensity or depth of feeling.

• SPECIFICITY: Responses that are specific and based on experiences should be given more weight

• FINDING BIG IDEAS

Analyzing the data

Write the report

• The final report can take many different shapes, it could be written up in a narrative format that includes an executive summary, background section, methods used, major findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

• Use a few quotes to illustrate• Sequence could be question by

question or by theme

Share results with the group

Use the results

Focus Group

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Auf9pkuCc8k

Attention to the following items will help ensure success:

Attention to the following items will help ensure success:1. Set the tone; participants should have fun and feel

good about the session. 2. Make sure every participant is heard; draw out

quieter group members.3. Get full answers (not just "we need more money" but

"we need more money to hire a receptionist to answer phones").

4. Monitor time closely; don’t exceed time limits.5. Keep the discussion on track; try to answer all or

most of the questions.