Recruitment of Participants

MR agencies keep data of those who have participated in focus groups previously. Such participants can be approached. There is a possibility that some of these participants have become ‘ professional respondents’, who are best avoided. Alternatively, participants can be invited through random selection from malls, telephone directories, mailing lists. All potential recruits are screened. Participants are informed about the day, date, time and venue of the discussion. They are to confirm the participation. A formal invitation is then sent to them. The covering letter mentions the time schedule, place and the compensation to be offered. Cash incentives are generally given to participants, though professional gifts are also offered sometimes. The typical group consists of 6-10 people, though sometimes larger groups can also be used. It is assumed that only 50 per cent people would turn up for discussion out of those who have agreed to participate.

People selected are similar; say doctors, accountants etc. Consumers groups are similar in demographic characteristics. If people do not share common background, it is possible that cliques will be formed at the time of discussion, e.g. CAs and MBAs, working women and housewives. People should have more or less the same social status, or else the discussion is hampered. On personal topics, a mixed gender group is not desirable, as the discussion may not remain comfortable.

A population can be broken into sub-groups, but the budget is constraint on the number of sub-groups. We can afford to have only one to four groups; and it acts as constraint on the sub-groups.

Discussion Moderation

A moderator has to have equal concern for the task and people. He should have good communication skills, and should be aware of the purpose behind the focus group. He has to encourage people to participate. He has to steer the discussion so that it does not get drifted into irrelevant topics.

He has to be unobtrusive. He does not impose his view on the group. He keeps silent if the discussion is moving forward along the desired lines. His talk is limited to stimulating people to talk.

The discussion is led further from the previous topic. The sequence is led further from the previous topic. The sequence is not so previous topic. The sequence is not so important. All topics should be covered. The flow should be maintained, rather than the sequence.

Reporting Results of Focus Groups

It is generally considered to be a technique of qualitative research, and not quantitative research. Counting is not called for. The emphasis is on ideas and themes. These are drawn from the transcripts. A focus group reports reads like a story. Ideas are illustrated by asking actual quotes. Those managers who observe a focus group draw their  own inferences even before they see a report. It is both a good thing and a bad one. It is good in the sense that managers are close to the data. But it may make them blind to the broader content of the discussion. It may lead to erroneous results.