Hi all,
If at some point you are gathering insights about the behavior you wish to promote, you may plan to conduct a focus group. Focus groups bring together a small group of people (usually 5-10) to talk about the behavior(s). Usually, the discussions are about 60-90 minutes in duration and may be online or in person. Focus groups allow you to explore barriers and benefits in-depth and involve gathering a range of opinions.
Consider following the process below to conduct your focus groups:
1. Define the audience. Focus group participants should be chosen based on criteria relevant to your research; for example, home ownership or city of residence.
2. Decide how many focus groups to conduct. In order to ensure that focus group participants feel comfortable sharing their opinions, create separate focus groups for people who are currently engaged in the behavior (active group), and those who are not yet engaged in the behavior (inactive group).
3. Select a moderator. This should be someone who can steer the group through the questions and make sure everyone has the chance to participate. You will also need a notetaker.
4. Develop a discussion guide. It takes time to discuss questions in-depth; therefore, you might only have time for 5-8 research questions. Start with easier and more general questions first, and then move to more specific questions about barriers and benefits. Be sure to ask open questions, not closed ones that only elicit “yes” or “no” responses.
5. Find a convenient time and venue. To ensure high participation, choose dates that do not conflict with events or obligations your audience might have, such as sporting events, religious ceremonies, or work hours. Arrange transportation or childcare, if appropriate.
6. Recruit participants. Focus groups should be selected randomly. That means having a list of people that fit your criteria and then choosing randomly who to invite. When conducting in-person focus groups, aim for a group size of no more than 8-10 people.
7. Create an environment for discussion. If the focus group is in person, make sure the space is large enough to hold everyone but not so large that people feel small and insignificant. If the focus group is online, offer to conduct a technology check ahead of time so that people know how to use the platform. Reassure participants that there are no right or wrong answers, and that their responses are confidential.
8. Manage the flow of the discussion. The moderator should keep their responses to comments neutral, such as saying “okay” or “thank you” instead of “great point” or “that’s interesting”, which indicates agreement. The moderator should also ensure that less assertive members have a chance to speak.
9. Compensate participants. When the focus group has concluded, provide payment to participants to compensate them for their time. Do not offer a payment that is too large, otherwise participants will give responses that they think you want to hear.
10. Analyze the results. Once the focus groups are completed, summarize the comments. Identify common themes by recording the number of times that participants made or agreed with a particular comment. Remember when writing focus group reports that focus groups only represent the views of a small number of individuals and cannot be easily generalized to the larger audience. They do, however, provide useful insights into how different people think about the topic.
To learn more about focus groups, consider purchasing the fourth edition of Dr. Doug McKenzie-Mohr’s book Fostering Sustainable Behavior here.
If at some point you are gathering insights about the behavior you wish to promote, you may plan to conduct a focus group. Focus groups bring together a small group of people (usually 5-10) to talk about the behavior(s). Usually, the discussions are about 60-90 minutes in duration and may be online or in person. Focus groups allow you to explore barriers and benefits in-depth and involve gathering a range of opinions.
Consider following the process below to conduct your focus groups:
1. Define the audience. Focus group participants should be chosen based on criteria relevant to your research; for example, home ownership or city of residence.
2. Decide how many focus groups to conduct. In order to ensure that focus group participants feel comfortable sharing their opinions, create separate focus groups for people who are currently engaged in the behavior (active group), and those who are not yet engaged in the behavior (inactive group).
3. Select a moderator. This should be someone who can steer the group through the questions and make sure everyone has the chance to participate. You will also need a notetaker.
4. Develop a discussion guide. It takes time to discuss questions in-depth; therefore, you might only have time for 5-8 research questions. Start with easier and more general questions first, and then move to more specific questions about barriers and benefits. Be sure to ask open questions, not closed ones that only elicit “yes” or “no” responses.
5. Find a convenient time and venue. To ensure high participation, choose dates that do not conflict with events or obligations your audience might have, such as sporting events, religious ceremonies, or work hours. Arrange transportation or childcare, if appropriate.
6. Recruit participants. Focus groups should be selected randomly. That means having a list of people that fit your criteria and then choosing randomly who to invite. When conducting in-person focus groups, aim for a group size of no more than 8-10 people.
7. Create an environment for discussion. If the focus group is in person, make sure the space is large enough to hold everyone but not so large that people feel small and insignificant. If the focus group is online, offer to conduct a technology check ahead of time so that people know how to use the platform. Reassure participants that there are no right or wrong answers, and that their responses are confidential.
8. Manage the flow of the discussion. The moderator should keep their responses to comments neutral, such as saying “okay” or “thank you” instead of “great point” or “that’s interesting”, which indicates agreement. The moderator should also ensure that less assertive members have a chance to speak.
9. Compensate participants. When the focus group has concluded, provide payment to participants to compensate them for their time. Do not offer a payment that is too large, otherwise participants will give responses that they think you want to hear.
10. Analyze the results. Once the focus groups are completed, summarize the comments. Identify common themes by recording the number of times that participants made or agreed with a particular comment. Remember when writing focus group reports that focus groups only represent the views of a small number of individuals and cannot be easily generalized to the larger audience. They do, however, provide useful insights into how different people think about the topic.
To learn more about focus groups, consider purchasing the fourth edition of Dr. Doug McKenzie-Mohr’s book Fostering Sustainable Behavior here.
