Difference between revisions of "Focus Groups"

Difference between revisions of "Focus Groups"

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{{Term|FOCUS GROUPS|A '''qualitative research tool''' in which a group of '''participants''' is invited to '''share their attitude''', feelings and thoughts '''on a specific topic''' (such as a product, a service, a concept, an advertisement, an idea...). Participants, who are usually alike persons, can spontaneously talk with each other, since the focus group session runs in an interactive setting.
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{{Term|FOCUS GROUPS|A '''qualitative research tool''' in which a group of participants is invited to share their feelings and thoughts '''on a specific topic''' (such as a product, a service, a concept, an advertisement, an idea...). Participants, who are usually alike persons, can spontaneously talk with each other, since the focus group session runs in an interactive setting.
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Focus group method is often used as well in social science as in marketing, since it is an important tool for getting information about the potential market acceptance of a new product.
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==Benefits of focus groups==
 
==Benefits of focus groups==
  
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#they are a '''quick and cheap''' method;
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#they are a '''quick''' method;
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#they are helpful for collecting '''informations on the group's attitude''' on a given subject, that would be difficult to obtain without interaction;
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#they are helpful for collecting '''information on the group's attitude''' on a given subject, that would be difficult to obtain without interaction;
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#thay are useful for eliciting '''informations on the features of conversation'''.
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#thay are useful for eliciting '''information on the characteristics of conversation'''.
  
 
==Limits of focus groups==
 
==Limits of focus groups==
  
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#to be effective, they '''need a skilled moderator''' to conduct them, who has to balance the freedom and spontaneity of the conversation against the focus on the topic;
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#to be effective, they need a '''skilled moderator''' to conduct them, who has to balance the freedom and spontaneity of the conversation against the focus on the topic;
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#they '''don't provide informations on individual opinions''', since the social environment influences the answers of participants: in order to avoid conflict, their attitude is usually more polite and moderate compared to what they would show in one-to-one interviews;
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#participants' answers are '''influenced by the social environment''': in order to avoid conflict, their attitude is usually more polite and moderate compared to what they would show in one-to-one interviews;
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#they '''aren't meant to generalize''', since the number of participants is not large enough to be representative of the whole population;
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#it is difficult to generalize their output, since the number of participants is not large enough to be representative of the whole population;
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#to limit the self-censorship, the group should be composed by '''people with similar features'''. Hence, '''to collect data on persons with different characteristics''', it is necessary to run '''multiple focus group sessions''';
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#to limit the self-censorship, the group should be composed by '''people''' who are '''similar'''. Hence, to collect data on persons with different characteristics, it is necessary to run multiple focus group sessions;
 
#'''results''' are '''not easy to analyse''' both because sessions must be audio taped and trascribed and because the issue is influenced by the moderator, who participates in the session too. <ref> [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_group Wikipedia] (3 June 2009), [http://managementhelp.org/evaluatn/focusgrp.htm managementhelp.org] (3 June 2009), [http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/focus-groups.shtml www.webcredible.co.uk] (3 June 2009), [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1969B.pdf www.extension.iastate.edu] (3 June 2009) </ref>}}
 
#'''results''' are '''not easy to analyse''' both because sessions must be audio taped and trascribed and because the issue is influenced by the moderator, who participates in the session too. <ref> [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_group Wikipedia] (3 June 2009), [http://managementhelp.org/evaluatn/focusgrp.htm managementhelp.org] (3 June 2009), [http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/focus-groups.shtml www.webcredible.co.uk] (3 June 2009), [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1969B.pdf www.extension.iastate.edu] (3 June 2009) </ref>}}
  

Revision as of 13:55, 7 July 2009

Term2.png FOCUS GROUPS
A qualitative research tool in which a group of participants is invited to share their feelings and thoughts on a specific topic (such as a product, a service, a concept, an advertisement, an idea...). Participants, who are usually alike persons, can spontaneously talk with each other, since the focus group session runs in an interactive setting.


Benefits of focus groups

  1. they are a quick method;
  2. they are helpful for collecting information on the group's attitude on a given subject, that would be difficult to obtain without interaction;
  3. thay are useful for eliciting information on the characteristics of conversation.

Limits of focus groups

  1. to be effective, they need a skilled moderator to conduct them, who has to balance the freedom and spontaneity of the conversation against the focus on the topic;
  2. participants' answers are influenced by the social environment: in order to avoid conflict, their attitude is usually more polite and moderate compared to what they would show in one-to-one interviews;
  3. it is difficult to generalize their output, since the number of participants is not large enough to be representative of the whole population;
  4. to limit the self-censorship, the group should be composed by people who are similar. Hence, to collect data on persons with different characteristics, it is necessary to run multiple focus group sessions;
  5. results are not easy to analyse both because sessions must be audio taped and trascribed and because the issue is influenced by the moderator, who participates in the session too. [1]


Link icon.png Web Resources
Below you have a list of selected websites where you can find further information on Focus Groups:
Link Content
managementhelp.org Guideline to conduct focus groups.
www.webcredible.co.uk Advice about how to plan and run focus groups.



References

  1. ↑ Wikipedia (3 June 2009), managementhelp.org (3 June 2009), www.webcredible.co.uk (3 June 2009), www.extension.iastate.edu (3 June 2009)
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