Cbs Customer Experience Team - Focus Group Facilitator Guide

A Focus Group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members.

To ensure your Focus Group is a success, consider these process steps:

1. Define the purpose by answering the question “What’s the point of this Focus Group”: this has to be clear and specific. The more defined the objective the easier the rest of the process.

1. Establish a timeline: A Focus Group cannot be developed overnight. The planning and logistics should start a few weeks ahead of the actual session. Make sure you have enough take time to identify the participants, develop and test the questions, locate a site, invite and follow up with participants, and gather the materials for the sessions.

1. Identify the participants: Determine how many participants you need and how many to invite as well as a list of key attributes to seek in participants based on the purpose of the focus group. Using the list of attributes, brainstorm about possible participants, and then secure names and contact information. Finalize the list, and send invitations. Focus groups should consist of six to twelve participants.  Fewer than six participants tend to limit the conversation, because there is not enough diversity to spark energy and creativity.  A group larger than twelve gets to be unwieldy and voices get lost.  However, you should invite more, allowing for no-shows.

1. Generate the questions: Because a focus group will last for about an hour, you won’t have time for unlimited questions or dialog. You may to include one or two introductory or warm-up questions and then move to the more serious questions that get at the heart of the purpose.  To be effective, focus group questions should be open-ended and move from the general to the specific.  Example: after asking the question, “What do you like about this Service?” you might ask, “If you could build a new Service from scratch, what would you put in to make a better one?” or “What would make the Service more appealing to your peers?” or even more specific, “Do you have any suggestions about what this Service could do better?”  Once you have a list of questions, look at your purpose statement again. Keep questions that are really important and that qualify for your purpose. Eliminate as many questions as possible. Rewrite the questions a final time and order the questions that will be comfortable for the participants, that is moving from general to specific.

1. Develop a script: Generating questions is a prelude to developing a more detailed script for your focus group. A minimum of one hour is recommended because the process requires some time for opening and closing remarks as well as at least one or two introductory questions. Be cautious not to exceed more time than participants are willing to offer. There are three parts to a focus group script, an example of which is attached later in this document:

1. The opening is the time for the facilitator to welcome the group, introduce the purpose and context of the focus group, explain what a focus group is and how it will flow, and make the introductions.
2. The question section is where you ask the questions that you designed and tested in Step 4.
3. The closing section wraps up the focus group. This includes thanking the participants, giving them an opportunity and avenue for further input, telling them how the data will be used, and explaining when the larger process will be completed.

1. Select a facilitator: A Focus Group facilitator should be able to deal tactfully with outspoken group members, keep the discussion on track, and make sure every participant is heard. The facilitator should also be knowledgeable about the Service or program being discussed. Be wary of anything about the facilitator (or facilitators) that might make participants uncomfortable.

1. Choose the location: Try and locate a setting which can accommodate the participants and where they would feel comfortable expressing their opinions. When choosing a location, consider these questions:

1. What message does the setting send?
2. Does the setting encourage conversation?
3. How will the setting affect the information gathered?
4. Will the setting bias the information offered?
5. Can it comfortably accommodate nine to fifteen people (six to twelve participants plus facilitators), where all can view each other?
6. Is it easily accessible?

Once decided, make sure you reserve the location well in advance of the session.