FOCUS GROUPS

What are they NOT group interviews Focused discussions, small group, physically co-present Used a lot in market research

What are they most useful for in-depth understanding – WHY Speculation (what you would like?) reaction to proposals, ideas, prototypes –Can show them designs, have them try out prototypes group synergy

Caveats conceptual/retrospective not actual/activity only what they can and will articulate may be the response in the moment – which may change over time strong personalities are a hazard groupthink

Participants Number: 5 to 9 Qualities of participants –Outspoken enough (but not dominating) –Homogeneous group, but heterogeneous views –Beware of power relations For multiple types of participants need multiple groups Recruitment –Paid; ‘professional’ –As you would recruit other subjects

Logistics 1- to 1 1/2 hours round table, chairs in circle comfortable room, good sightlines, acoustics Food and drink with care – they have to be able to talk!

Guiding the discussion know your objectives don’t try to do too much – 2-4 major topics is probably all have an outline of how you want to proceed be ready to be flexible if need be – or to rein in the discussion Stick to the time limit

Moderator’s role encourage discussion encourage them to talk with one another not you bring in people who aren’t speaking Reduce influence of people who dominate Bring out a variety of viewpoints keep on discussion track w/o stifling allow silence avoid premature closure

Moderator, cont. Ensure safety Listen and regroup as needed Do NOT act as a leader but DO keep the discussion on topic Preferably someone not connected with the topic –However, for some topics, really need someone who understands topic, terminology Use 2 people if possible – one to guide, one to take notes

Introducing the process Introduce purpose, sponsorship if applicable Lay out guidelines, e.g. time Be clear on the topic(s) of discussion Make introductions Specify that you are interested in thoughts not decisions

Observing and Recording videotaping audiotaping note-taker –Has to be someone other than moderator One-way mirrors

Reporting fast synthesis of important issues Key quotations useful but NOT a transcription –Though use a transcription to create report if at all possible

Criticisms of focus groups Participants not representative Dominated by few people or topics Limited to what people can talk about

CHI 2002 Panel Focus groups in HCI: Wealth of Info or Waste of Resources?

Key Issues Focus groups are small numbers, not random, not statistically valid Focus groups are a lot of work How best to use limited resources? Answer (in part): can get insights from focus groups that can’t get in other ways Know their limits

Broad definition of focus groups Traditional focus group responding to a design –Often paired with user testing: Pair members of panel with developers, do something behavioral and come back and discuss Usability roundtable Pluralistic walkthrough Participant heuristic evaluation

Some uses of focus groups Validating high-level strategy, goals Capture user roles, tasks, workflows Generate and evaluate design ideas Identify customer expectations Get user language, terminology Increase customer involvement, buy-in

Vs. other methods -- Pros: Methods without users are suspect Lab methods only answer the questions we know to ask; decontextualized Field methods have their uses but… Reach lots of people in relatively short time Useful when people are gathered from various locations, e.g., conference

Pros, cont. Observing behavior is very useful but need some way to understand users’ interpretations, intentions, as well When you want insight, not statistics, focus groups are the way to go

Cons Respondents only report what they remember and deem important enough to mention Self-reported data Focus groups lack the statistical validity of larger tests Limited group Need some way to study behavior, too Strong participant sways the group

Challenges Need skilled facilitator –Hard to do! –Anything you say has effect; vs methods where all you have to do is be quiet Costly to schedule groups Sometimes people feel like they have to say something – talk about features haven’t tried

On-line focus groups Method –Real time conferencing – appprox. 90 minutes –Asynchronous conferencing over several days Benefits: –Distant participants –Convenient for participants –Immediate transcript Difficulties –below All the usual pros and cons of electronic communication Example: –[this is not a recommendation; just one you can observe]

Ex: Online Focus Group for Hard of Hearing Sapient Health Network (SHN) - is an informative health site for people with chronic and serious illnesses. SHN is currently trying to conduct an online focus group of moderate to severe hearing impaired individuals. If you have a hearing loss that significantly impacts your life SHN is very interested in your participation in our "Hard of Hearing Focus Group". Technically, the focus group will require only that you use standardInternet chat software and visit a special Web address. SHN will guide you in both of these activities as they confirm your participation. The focus group will require no more than two hours of your time and ** You will becompensated for your participation **. If you are interested you can fill out the registration for at:xxx >

Problems with ONLINE focus groups – from Traditional focus groups offer the benefits of face-to-face interaction. This enables a skilled moderator to utilize the group dynamics to explore an issue, and allow the participants to discuss the topic among themselves, which normally will result in a much more in-depth exploration of the topic. An experienced focus group moderator will use non-verbal reactions of the participants both to direct the nature of the discussion but also as a part of the ultimate analysis process. In traditional focus groups the moderator is an authority figure that can direct the flow of the discussion to ensure that the most productive use of time is made, elicit comments from all participants in the group, and minimize the influence of one or more people.

Problems with ONLINE focus groups (cont) The security of the Internet focus group is not nearly as tight as it is with live sessions. The Internet approach to focus group relies on an individual's ability to type effectively to participate fully. One of the most important benefits of the traditional focus group is the ability of the clients to be involved in the research real-time by observing from behind the one-way mirror. Traditional focus groups have the ability to show "external stimuli" to groups in order to obtain their reactions.

Added problems with online Comments likely to be short If asynchronous, loss of thread of discussion The usual chat room problem of lag in responses Lack of interaction, synergy Easy for participants to NOT participate Rude/extreme behavior?