How  to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group How  to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group Program Transcript SHERRY: The goal of a focus  group is  to collect in-­depth information about the perceptions  and behaviors  of a small non-­representative sample of a population. Focus  groups  take careful planning. In this  program, we'll show you how to plan and conduct a focus  group. So, what is  a focus  group? A  focus  group is  a research method used for   collecting qualitative data to gain a deeper  understanding of a particular  issue or   topic. We convene a selected group of six  to eight people with a specific  demographic   background, and then lead them  in a semi-­structured conversation about a particular  issue of interest. The conversation lasts  about one to two hours  and Is  recorded for  analysis  later. But before you begin, you need to be clear  about your  objectives. Start by  identifying what you intend to cover  with your  focus  group. Maybe you want to understand the feelings  of a certain demographic  on a given topic-­-­ their   needs, their  behaviors, or  their  knowledge. Maybe you want to find out what people think  about an idea you are considering, like a new initiative for  your   community. It all depends  on the research question you want to answer. In the focus  group that I'm conducting, my  research question is, why  is the rate of breast cancer   screening so low among African-­American women? So whose experiences  or  attitudes  do you want to explore? It's important to be clear  on the population you need to sample. In my  focus  group, I want to explore the views  of African-­American women aged 30 to 50. It's also important that I set up enough groups  to provide complete information to reach what we call saturation. It's helpful to offer  an incentive to people to sign up. You don't have to pay  them, and you certainly  don't want them  to come just because of the money, because that might bias  what they  say. But people are giving up their  time to join a group, so it's respectful to offer   something in return, like a gift card to a grocery  store. The next thing is  to find your  group members. One approach is  to recruit people out in the community. For  example, you might recruit at a community  event as  you hand out a flier, advertising your  focus   group. Another  approach is  to recruit by  phone. But you will need a list of names   to call. ©2016 Laureate  Education, Inc. 1 How  to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group For  my focus  group, I obtained two lists. One from  my pastor  at church, and the other  from  a local community  center. And then I start calling. Try  to find people who are alike enough to have common ground, yet diverse enough to stimulate discussion. You can achieve this  by  carefully  considering the background and experience of each potential group member  before you make your  final decision. Once you have y ...

1. How to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group
How to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group
Program Transcript
SHERRY: The goal of a focus group is to collect in--depth
information about the
perceptions and behaviors of a small non--representative
sample of a population.
Focus groups take careful planning. In this program, we'll
show you how to plan
and conduct a focus group.

2. So, what is a focus group? A focus group is a research
method used for
collecting qualitative data to gain a deeper understanding of a
particular issue or
topic.
We convene a selected group of six to eight people with a
specific demographic
background, and then lead them in a semi--structured
conversation about a
particular issue of interest.
The conversation lasts about one to two hours and Is recorded
for analysis later.
But before you begin, you need to be clear about your
objectives.
Start by identifying what you intend to cover with your focus
group. Maybe you
want to understand the feelings of a certain demographic on a
given topic---- their
needs, their behaviors, or their knowledge. Maybe you want to
find out what
people think about an idea you are considering, like a new
initiative for your
community.
It all depends on the research question you want to answer. In
the focus group
that I'm conducting, my research question is, why is the rate of
breast cancer
screening so low among African--American women?
So whose experiences or attitudes do you want to explore? It's
important to be

3. clear on the population you need to sample. In my focus
group, I want to explore
the views of African--American women aged 30 to 50.
It's also important that I set up enough groups to provide
complete information to
reach what we call saturation. It's helpful to offer an incentive
to people to sign
up. You don't have to pay them, and you certainly don't want
them to come just
because of the money, because that might bias what they say.
But people are giving up their time to join a group, so it's
respectful to offer
something in return, like a gift card to a grocery store. The
next thing is to find
your group members.
One approach is to recruit people out in the community. For
example, you might
recruit at a community event as you hand out a flier,
advertising your focus
group. Another approach is to recruit by phone. But you will
need a list of names
to call.
©2016 Laureate Education, Inc. 1

4. How to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group
For my focus group, I obtained two lists. One from my pastor
at church, and the
other from a local community center. And then I start calling.
Try to find people who are alike enough to have common
ground, yet diverse
enough to stimulate discussion. You can achieve this by
carefully considering the
background and experience of each potential group member
before you make
your final decision.
Once you have your focus group, you need someone to lead it-
--- A moderator. An
effective moderator has a full plate of responsibilities.
When did you first learn about breast cancer screening?
You need to know something about the topic of the research,
keep the

5. conversation on track, and know how to listen. It's important to
relate to members
of the group regardless of their age, their interest, or their
backgrounds.
You also have to be able to calm down anyone who tries to
dominate the
conversation, and encourage the shy ones to talk. It also really
helps if you can
read body language. And, of course, you have to stay on
schedule.
That's a lot, which is why some researchers employ a trained
moderator, but
many of us lead our own groups. Leading a group and
collecting data at the
same time is hard work. Some moderators can do it, but it's
best to have a
partner that can help you, like my research assistant, Maria.
MARIA: The research assistant has a lot to do, and it's all
important. I greet
people as they first come in, and help them get comfortable. I
keep an eye on
how they interact. I read their body language. Keep track of
time for the
moderator. Ask questions as the discussion wanders.
What are some of the barriers for women like you regarding
your ability to get
breast cancer screening?
And perhaps most important, I make sure that the focus group
data is collected.
I'll be making an audio recording, but I'll also take notes.

6. SHERRY: It's important to find the right place to conduct your
focus group.
Everyone needs to feel comfortable and safe. Office workers
do well in a
conference room but others won't.
For example, moms with kids will want a space for child
care. Teens might prefer
a more relaxed setting, like a pizza shop. It can be great for an
after school focus
group. Comfort is key.
©2016 Laureate Education, Inc. 2

7. How to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group
MARIA: Provide refreshments. Make sure you have water on
hand. Snacks, too.
Also, there has to be a restroom nearby---- for women and
men. If you plan your
focus group carefully, the chances are that things will go
smoothly.
For example, send out clear directions to everyone in
advance. And if you can,
call all the group members the night before to remind them
you want a full turn
out.
Most of the focus group is unscripted, but you do need to
script a few things,
such as the questions you want to ask. Sherry has been
working on the
questions for our focus group for a while now.
Since this is qualitative research, our questions are designed
to give us rich, thick
data. We've tested them on a couple of non participants, so we
know they're
easy to understand and culturally sensitive.
SHERRY: In addition to the questions I want to ask, I also
script the points I want
to cover before we start. The script comes in handy and helps
keep me focused.
Hi, everyone.
PARTICIPANTS: Good morning.
SHERRY: I want to welcome you all today. Thank you so much

8. for giving up a
couple of hours of your time to participate in this research.
I'm excited about this
study and look forward to our discussion today. Just a few
housekeeping items
before we get started.
We want this to be a casual discussion, but we do need it to be
respectful. We all
hold valid opinions, and that's the point of our focus group
today. We want to
learn from all of you. I may stop the discussion if we start
veering off track.
This is the consent form that you read and signed before
coming into the room. It
says that our discussion here today is completely
confidential. Your name, nor
anything about your identity, will appear anywhere in the
study findings.
As health professionals, this is something we take very
seriously. Upholding
confidentiality is an important part of our professional
conduct, and I intend to
behave ethically and with integrity.
About halfway through our discussion we'll stop for a short
break. Restrooms are
located across the hall to the left. Finally, I ask that you turn
off and silence your
cellphones.
MARIA: The script also contains a closing statement with
details of what happens
next in the research process, such as how people get their

9. incentives---- like the
grocery gift card---- and, of course, a big thanks to everyone
for participating.
©2016 Laureate Education, Inc. 3
How to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group
SHERRY: So everything is all set up for your focus group to
run successfully,
and you're ready to start. The space is inviting. There are
snacks and drinks. Hi,
everyone.

10. PARTICIPANTS: Hello.
SHERRY: You've welcomed everyone, you've got your script,
and you're ready to
ask the first question. You go to turn on the audio recorder and
it won't work.
This is exactly what happened to me in my first focus group,
and I didn't have an
assistant to help me. So it's good to have an assistant, and to
double check your
recording equipment ahead of time.
We're here to talk about mammograms, and what women of
color think about
them. Because as you may know, about 70% of all white
women get their
mammograms as recommended, but only about 40% of women
like us. So
what's going on here?
PARTICIPANT: Well, I can tell you, for one thing the clinic is
all the way across
town, and that's a long way for me. I have to go get child care
because they don't
have any there.
SHERRY: Every moderator has their own style, but most
researchers agree on
the basic principles, like everyone's opinion is important.
However, sometimes
you have to restrain people who get over enthusiastic.
OK. Transportation is an issue. That's clear. What about the
rest of you? Do you
have easy access to public transportation to reach the imaging

11. center?
ANN: Yeah, we have some buses, but they're real old,
TINA: Oh man, they're smelly. I hate when you get inside the
bus and it is ripe.
One time I had to take a 20 minute bus ride downtown, but it
felt like the longest
ride of my life.
ANN: Well, yeah, there's that, but I was going to say that the
older buses break
down a lot, so----
TINA: Like scream at your city councilmen, right? Like, hey,
fix this thing already.
What are my taxes for?
SHERRY: What we're you going to say, Ann?
ANN: The buses---- you know my friend Tricia? She almost----
SHERRY: Can we please let Ann finish her thoughts, and then
we can listen to
what you have to say, Tina.
©2016 Laureate Education, Inc. 4

12. How to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group
ANN: It's just that it seems that there ought to be some way to
help people get to
the center. You know, a shuttle bus or something like that.
SHERRY: There are also people who hold back. Maybe they're
shy, or uncertain
about how and when to speak. A good moderator involves
them and pulls them
into the discussion
ANN: She was really rude to me, so after that experience I
refused to go back.
SHERRY: Does anyone else have another story they'd like to
share? Something
similar to Ann's experience? How about you Maggie? Earlier
you mentioned that
you wouldn't use this imaging facility even though it's not far

13. from where you live.
Can you tell us some of the reasons why your family
members don't like the
facility?
MAGGIE: The facility's OK, I guess. We just don't talk about
it much, that's all.
SHERRY: You mean your family doesn't talk about the
facility, or something
else?
MAGGIE: We don't talk about the screenings or breast cancer.
SHERRY: Was there something about the facility you didn't
like?
MAGGIE: Well, I used to take my nana there every year to
get her screens, and
they weren't real nice to her there. And then she got the
cancer, and she passed
away really fast.
SHERRY: If she were still here, what do you think your nana
would say about
breast cancer screenings, Maggie?
MAGGIE: I think she would say to stop moping around, and to
get to the clinic to
get your screenings. She waited too long to get her screens
and look what
happened.
SHERRY: If you were to get screened, would you consider
using the imaging
facility we've been talking about today?

14. MAGGIE: I think I'd give it a try at least once.
SHERRY: Ideally, everyone feels comfortable enough in a
focus group that they
openly share their points of view. When that happens, time
flies, so watch the
clock. And when it's time to end, use your script.
I want to thank everyone, and explain what happens to the
information you've
given us today. We're going to create a transcript. That's a
document containing
©2016 Laureate Education, Inc. 5

15. How to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group
everything that you've said, and we'd like to invite each of you
to read it, and
check it for accuracy.
This is called member checking. We're happy to change
anything you said if
you'd like us to do that. But, of course, we won't change what
anyone else has
said.
In theory, qualitative researchers continue to collect data until
no new information
arises. At this point, the data is set to be saturated.
In practice, most major themes have emerged after three focus
groups. So you
may want to end your first group asking for help, gathering
people for the next
group.
MARIA: Here's a flier about our next group for anyone you
know who might want
to be a part.
SHERRY: This is a technique called snowballing. You get
members from one
group to connect you with new people.
MARIA: Our next step will be to analyze the data and figure
out the main things
that were expressed in the group. A second or third group may

16. add to those
themes or even contradict them. That's OK.
The idea is not to come up with any generalizable truths. We
just want to
understand the different ways that people think about this
topic.
SHERRY: Well, that's it. Our time is up. So thank you all,
and have a wonderful
rest of your day.
PARTICIPANTS: Thank you.
SHERRY: If you have any questions, just give me a call. The
number is on the
paperwork.
A focus group takes practice, so you may not master it on
your first try. Working
with an experienced researcher to conduct your first focus
group is a great way
to learn this method of collecting information.
Leading a group takes oral communication and social skills. It
takes on--the--spot
reactions, and the ability to read people. Focus groups are a
time--tested way to
explore the stories behind the faces, and the meanings behind
the numbers.
You can do them after a quantitative study to get deeper
understanding of your
results. You can also do them before a quantitative study to
discover variables or
factors you want to measure.

17. ©2016 Laureate Education, Inc. 6
How to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group
When done right, a focus group is a powerful way of
collecting qualitative data.
How to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group
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©2016 Laureate Education, Inc. 7