The Focus Group Guidebook

David L. Morgan

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Year: 1997
• ISBN:
  9781506320700
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Research & Methodology
• Index: Social Sciences

Providing a general introduction to focus group research, Morgan includes the appropriate reasons for using focus groups and what you can expect to accomplish with them. He provides a brief history of focus groups, a discussion of when to use focus groups and why, and several brief case studies illustrating different uses of focus groups. The author covers the timeline and costs associated with focus groups, including a discussion of the ethical issues involved in focus group research. Thoroughly covering all the information to help you start your focus group project, this guidebook is appropriate for anybody beginning a focus group, as well as managers or clients who will be using focus groups.

VOLUME 1

1

About This Book

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Overview

An Introduction to Focus Groups
First Encounters With Focus Groups

This is a book for readers who are new to focus groups. Consequently, this chapter begins by introducing what focus groups are. The rest of this chapter summarizes the organization of the book and then presents two examples of what it might be like to do your first project using focus groups.

An Introduction to Focus Groups

Focus groups are group interviews. A moderator guides the interview while a small group discusses the topics that the interviewer raises. What the participants in the group say during their discussions are the essential data in focus groups. Typically, there are six to eight participants who come from similar backgrounds, and the moderator is a well-trained professional who works from a predetermined set of discussion topics. Many other variations are possible, however.

Over the past decade, many organizations have learned what focus groups are. Government agencies, nonprofit organizations, academic researchers, and public relations experts are all discovering the value of focus groups. From a practical standpoint, the real question is not what focus groups are but what you can do with them—and how to do it. The other five volumes in this kit present detailed “how to do it” information, while this book concentrates on the reasons why you might choose to do focus groups, as well as what an actual project using focus groups would involve. These twin themes—why to do focus groups and what this choice involves—begin in the second half of this chapter, which describes what it is like to do your first project using focus groups.

The broad issue of what you can do with focus groups is the central topic in Chapter 2, “Why Should You Use Focus Groups?” That chapter sets out both the strengths of focus groups and the ways they fit into a variety of purposes that organizations pursue. Chapter 3, “Focus Groups in Use: Six Case Studies,” illustrates these uses by presenting descriptions of six projects that use focus groups. These cases also demonstrate the range of activities involved in actually doing research with focus groups.

Having a grasp of both why to use focus groups and what they involve paves the way for a better understanding of what focus groups are and why they are done the way they are. This is the topic of Chapter 4, “What Focus Groups Are (and Are Not),” while Chapter 5, “A Capsule History of Focus Groups,” examines three traditions that have contributed to current practices in focus groups. Anything that has been around long enough to have a history will also have acquired a certain amount of mythology, and Chapter 6, “Some Myths About Focus Groups,” gets at the truth behind some of the common misconceptions about focus groups.

The next two chapters consider some of the realities of doing focus groups. Making the decision about whether to do focus groups requires an understanding of the kind of results that they will produce, and this is the topic of Chapter 7, “What Do You Get From Focus Groups?” Choosing to do focus groups also requires that you have the means to do them, as discussed in Chapter 8, “Resources Required to Do Focus Groups.”

Chapters 9 and 10 present the human side of focus groups. Chapter 9, “It’s All About Relationships: Working Together,” considers the roles in any focus group project: the sponsor (who commissions the project), the research team (who collect and analyze the data), and the participants (whose discussions provide the data). Chapter 10, “Ethical Issues,” continues the theme of relationships, by examining the responsibilities that the people in these three roles have toward each other.

Finally, Chapter 11, “Checklist: Are Focus Groups Right for You?” concludes this introduction with a checklist of the issues that go into a decision to use focus groups. By the time you are done reading this book, let alone the whole kit that goes with it, you will have a solid understanding of why to do focus groups and what doing focus groups involves. In the meantime, a good way to think about whether focus groups are right for you is to review some examples of how others have used them.

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Examples of Projects Using Focus Groups

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A corporation wanted to ensure the success of the new employee child care center that it was building. A series of focus groups helped the company develop flexible policies that employees felt were truly “family friendly”

A federal agency wanted to learn why its national health promotion campaign was having little effect. Focus groups indicated that the message in the existing advertising was too complex; the groups considered simpler ways of expressing the same ideas.

A department’s managers wanted to convince their superior that there was demand for a new program they were planning. By first holding focus groups with potential clients, they were able to develop a survey questionnaire that demonstrated a high level of interest among the company’s customers.

A library wanted to help its older patrons through the changeover from a card catalog to a computerized system. Focus groups with senior library users led to a “peer counselor” plan where older volunteers demonstrated the new system throughout the months that it was introduced.

A graduate student wanted to understand the experiences of high school students with lower grade-point averages. Her thesis used focus groups to explore why these students limited their goals to “not flunking out.”

A large nonprofit organization wanted to increase its activities in the African American community Through a nationwide series of focus groups, the organization learned that it was virtually unknown in this community, despite an advertising campaign that it thought was geared to African Americans.

A state agency that was facing major cutbacks wanted to provide a job counseling program that would be of practical use to its former employees. Focus groups revealed the need for different programs among those who wanted jobs that were similar to their old ones and those who wanted to pursue new careers.

A high school-based drug prevention program was more successful at some sites than others. Follow-up focus groups comparing the more successful and less successful schools indicated the importance of connecting the program with preexisting clubs and extracurricular activities.

A health insurance plan wanted to develop the content for a multimedia program that would introduce new members to its services. The staff members conducted a series of focus groups that guided the project from its initial design phase through final product testing.

A self-help program for recent immigrants wanted to design a community center. The program hired a trainer who taught its counselors how to do focus groups among its members, eventually leading to a center that people in the community truly claimed as their own.

A major university wanted to learn the best approach to raising funds from its recent graduates. Focus groups showed that gifts were unlikely while these graduates were still paying student loans, so the university developed a low-budget campaign on the theme of “think of us when you can,” with the goal of encouraging future donations.

A hospital wanted to learn why some new parents attended free childbirth classes while others did not. Focus groups showed that those who did not attend had inaccurate stereotypes about the nature of the classes, so a special brochure and publicity plan were developed to correct this.

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First Encounters With Focus Groups

Focus groups don’t just happen. Someone has to want to do them, and someone has to do the work. To get a realistic understanding of what is involved in the decision to do focus groups, let’s consider a hypothetical scenario where a department in a large organization is getting ready to do its first project using focus groups.

Imagine that you are a manager in an organization that is about to change the way that it does business with a large percentage of your clients. Your assignment is to put together a research project that reports on how these changes will affect your clients. Although you’ve never used focus groups before, you’ve been impressed with other projects you’ve encountered that did use them. You’re convinced that focus groups would be right for this project. Now your task is to convince your supervisor.

What kinds of things will your supervisor want to hear? First, it would probably be wise to describe exactly what focus groups are, especially if you’re not sure what your supervisor may or may not know about them. More important, however, is to make a clear case about why focus groups will deliver exactly the kind of information that your organization needs.

In this case, the purpose of the project is to anticipate changes. Hearing from your clients in focus groups is going to let you know what matters to them. Are the changes going to deliver some things that they want? Will your clients experience disruptions or the loss of services that will make a major difference to them? In addition, the focus groups will help you learn about the best ways to communicate with your clients during this period of change. How can you get them the information they need in a timely fashion? How can you continue to benefit from their inputs once you have started to implement the planned changes?

These are things that your organization needs to know, and focus groups can deliver them. Still, if neither you nor your supervisor has used focus groups before, you may still face questions like, “But why focus groups? Don’t we have other ways of getting this kind of information?”

In this case, it is fairly easy to make a case for the value of group discussions with your clients. Each individual client is likely to have some ideas about how these changes will make a difference, but most of them probably have not thought about these changes very deeply. Bringing a group of clients together allows them to share and compare their different ideas. They can discuss what is likely to happen and what won’t, what will affect one of them but not another, and what their highest priority issues are during this period of transition. The give-and-take of group discussions among clients who share an interest in these changes should produce very useful insights into what matters most to them.

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Chapter 8 and Planning Focus Groups Have More Discussion of Timelines and Budgets

Of course, your supervisor is also going to have a series of much more pragmatic concerns. How much is this going to cost? Who is going to do this work? How long is it going to take? We address these issues elsewhere in this volume, as well as in the other books in this series. You’ll need to do your homework so you can answer these questions, but, first, make sure that you can explain ex...