Method Overview
Small groups of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. In the context of SERA, we would be obtaining popular perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes toward prevailing business practices, new initiatives, existing activities, policies, concepts, ideas and issues within Sauder, etc. Not only will participants be asked open ended questions, they will also be able to discuss among themselves regarding the topic in question.
Different types of focus groups:
- Two-way focus group – one focus group watches another focus group and discusses the observed interactions and conclusion
- Dual moderator focus group – one moderator ensures the session progresses smoothly, while another ensures that all the topics are covered
- Dueling moderator focus group – two moderators deliberately take opposite sides on the issue under discussion
- Respondent moderator focus group – one and only one of the respondents are asked to act as the moderator temporarily
- Client participant focus groups – one or more client representatives participate in the discussion, either covertly or overtly
- Mini focus groups – groups are composed of four or five members rather than 6 to 12
- Teleconference focus groups – telephone network is used
- Online focus groups – computers connected via the internet are used
Procedure
- Determine what is to be tested/investigated. Define the question of interest.
- Choose type of sampling group (from above or create one) and plan the scope of the study.
- Take care of logistics, for example time and location.
- Choose sampling method and obtain sample.
- Conduct focus group discussions.
- Analysis of answers. (look for patterns)
- Formal report and/or presentation as needed.
Advantages
- We will gain additional insights that may not be easily obtained in any other (non-group) setting
- One participant’s experiences or ideas may stimulate other participants to remember certain experiences or ideas – this is known as the group effect
- More introverted participants may be able to open up with more ease, with the presence of their peers
- Similarly, issues that usually do not get brought up can be due to a lack of opportunity or knowledge of where to go and whom to talk to
- Specifically in SERA, we can avoid the high costs of conducting focus groups, as we can attract participants with relative ease
- The information obtained will be of high quality
- People tend to take studies more seriously if they are to show up in person, giving us more accurate results through focus groups than through online surveys
- Non-verbal cues can also be noted
Disadvantages
- Difficult to find a group that represents Sauder well, as the focus groups are small in size
- Degree of control is lower than most other methods
- Very time consuming on the researchers’ part
- Difficult to avoid bias, as researchers are engaged in asking questions as well as the discussions
- May have problems maintaining control of the group, depending on the personality mix
- People may not be as honest in front of others, perhaps as a result of peer pressure
Recommended Usage
- In SERA, we should be able to conduct focus groups, depending on the relative complexity of the study. It is recommended that we use focus groups for bigger research projects as it is time consuming in nature.
- Focus groups are useful for discussing complex issues
