MR has started using focus groups in the last 35 years. Focus groups are used to get spontaneous feed-back from the customers and to bypass the highly expensive personal interviews.

When it started, focus group interview was a type of survey of a large number of people, usually audiences of radio-show, who were asked structured questions. But since then, focus group has come to mean a small group discussion where no fixed questionnaire is used. It is kept unstructured to allow a free flow of thoughts and ideas.

Procedure

A focus group comprises 6-15 people drawn from a company’s target audience. They are invited for a group discussion on a suggested topic. They are given a financial incentive for participation. The focus group conversation is held in a room, with circular seating arrangement, and has recording facilities. There is arrangement for videography. Participants are expected to fill in a brief background questionnaire. There is provision of snacks and beverages for the participants.

There is a pre-specified list of topics. The unstructured discussion is carried out under the supervision of a focus group moderator. The moderator welcomes the participants and initiates them to talk about say banking, and what they feel about it. The initial prompting may require the moderator to put simple questions like ‘ where do you bank ?’ and , and ‘ how long ?’. He then moves forward the discussion to the feelings about banking.

As the discussion rolls on, the moderator does least amount of talking himself, but encourages the participants to talk. He draws out people by asking questions, and does not allow the discussion to digress. His follow up questions take the discussion forward. The moderator draws out the shy participants by putting questions to them. The moderator keeps an outline of topics to be covered in the discussion. After exhausting the one topic, he lets the discussion flow to another topic. This continues till time runs out or else the discussion on all topics under the subject for discussion are exhausted. The moderator closes the discussion.

A recorded and videotapped version of the focus group is made available to the project director. Alternatively, a transcript is prepared and the same is used while submitting the report to the client.

Two Approaches to Discussion

A focus group uses either the funnel approach or the inverted funnel approach. In the funnel approach the discussion starts with micro-level questions, say care of teeth and gums and moves on to the use of tooth-pastes and other dentrifices to finally culminate in macro-level topics of oral health care in the total health care plan. In the inverted funnel approach, the discussion flows down from broader health care topics to the use of pastes to the care of teeth, which are smaller topics and a matter of detail.