Focus Groups
summary | detail | methodology
The focus group process usually takes four to six weeks, depending on the requirements for participant recruiting, any required travel to focus group sites, and results reporting.
Focus Group Design
The design of a focus group summarizes the issues to be studied, the topics on which to focus the discussion, the activities to observe, and the criteria for screening the people who participate.
- Tec-Ed meets with you to identify the topics to be discussed in the focus group sessions and the characteristics of the desired participants.
- Tec-Ed then creates an outline for the facilitator, listing the high-level issues and questions to discuss, as well as supplementary “probing questions.” Probing questions enable the facilitator to follow up on a discussion, explore a discussion in more depth, or spark discussion when it stalls.
Focus Group Sessions
Tec-Ed conducts focus groups with a team of two researchers: a facilitator and an observer/note-taker. The facilitator must concentrate on drawing out quiet group members, eliciting explanations of ambiguous or incomplete comments, and making sure everyone’s opinions are respected. Therefore, the attentiveness and perception of the note-taker are very important.
The facilitator and the note-taker typically sit in the room with the participants, although the note-taker may sit in the observation room with the product team. The facilitator conducts the focus groups from the outline and probing questions. Because of the dynamics of the group environment, the facilitator must remain flexible while leading the discussion, which in turn puts more demands on the note-taker. Tec-Ed also makes video and audio recordings of the focus groups for later reference.
As part of each focus group session, participants may complete short written questionnaires. That way, we can collect individual reactions and preferences on some issues, as well as quantitative data across all participants.
Usability Focus Group Sessions
Usability focus groups differ from traditional focus groups in that they are task-based, so we can observe the participants’ behavior with a product. These observations add validity to the data, because participants base their opinions on real product use rather than an imprecise (and invisible to researchers) image of how they might use the product.
After an initial group discussion, we break into subgroups of two to five people. These subgroups explore a product in a co-discovery manner, each with a facilitator. (In co-discovery, two or more people use a product together; they take turns handling the controls and advising the “driver.”)
The full group then reconvenes to discuss the participants’ experiences. The co-discovery process emulates the collaborative nature of many work processes, and the group interaction often elicits comments related to the context of use as well as a wealth of ideas and opinions.
Focus Group Data Collection and Reporting
After completing the focus group sessions, the researchers create a text database of notes (including participant quotes) that reflect various aspects of the discussed topics and tasks. This method assists the initial data analysis and makes it easier to “mine” the data to address follow-up questions from the design team.
Then Tec-Ed analyzes the data and presents the findings and recommendations in a written report and a discussion meeting.
Focus Group Participants
Successful focus groups are homogeneous, that is, each session includes people with similar backgrounds or experiences (“profiles”). For example, in research for a business product, all representatives of clerical staff would be in one group and all representatives of managerial staff in a different group. Ensuring people in a focus group share key characteristics helps everyone to join the discussion and eliminates social hierarchies that might inhibit some participants.
Tec-Ed works with you to identify the key audience groups for the research. The focus group design includes the desired number and balance of participant characteristics, as well as the participant profiles.
Tec-Ed’s staff of experienced participant recruiters screens and selects participants who meet the agreed-upon criteria. Where participants are key customers, recruiting can occur more efficiently if your organization introduces the research study to them; Tec-Ed provides the written description to facilitate this introduction. We often need 20–50 candidate names for each actual recruited participant.
