Focus Groups By: Michelle Stagl

What is a Focus Group? A Focus Group is a gathering of selected consumers that is used to determine the public’s response to a particular product or service.

History of Focus Groups First used in 1920s to help develop survey questions 1940s – used to determine people’s responses to wartime radio programs Until 1970s – mainly used in market research Late 1980s – recognized as social science method and began to be more popularized

Purpose To learn feelings or perceptions about a specific service or product Not designed to reach a consensus or a decision

Two Types Structured the moderator has an agenda set that is not deviated from Unstructured the discussion is free flowing to allow for general discussion

Why are Focus Groups better than other research methods? Have more control in how to respond than in surveys Focus Groups allow for influence and interaction between the members It is more efficient to interview multiple subjects at once if the question is known

Multiple Samples Used Allows for diversity Multiple groups help to counteract irregularities Counteracts environmental variables

Effectiveness People can be distracted if annoyed or angered Participants must be comfortable They must be engaged in the discussion Difficult to control number of participants

Example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Auf9pkuCc8k

So… A Focus Group is designed to learn the public’s opinion about some service or product. The effectiveness of it depends mainly on the participants. This method has been around for almost a century, but is now becoming more predominantly used.

Resources https://www.thebalancesmb.com/what-is-a-market-research-focus-group-2296907 http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/research/guides/methods/focus.htm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Auf9pkuCc8k