Online and Traditional Focus Groups
Marketing research.
Online and traditional focus groups.
Focus groups are a method of group interviewing in which the interaction between the moderator and the group, as well as the interaction between group members, serves to elicit information and insights in response to carefully designed questions. The dynamic nature of the questions asked by the moderator and the group process, produces a level of insight that is rarely derived from 'unidirectional ' information collection devises such as observation, surveys and less interactional interview techniques. Methods of recording and analyzing information gathered during focus groups, and strategies for collecting unbiased information have helped focus group research to gain credibility as an accurate and useful source of information collection. Focus group methods gained popularity in marketing research. In the 1980s social scientists recognized the value of focus groups for qualitative research and adapted the techniques accordingly. In the 1990s focus group strategies have become widely researched and used in social sciences and human service organizations.
Focus groups, like any other program evaluation method, are more appropriate for some situations than others. Morgan & Krueger (1993) discuss instances when focus groups are beneficial:
When the security provided by the group allows members who are lower in the 'power hierarchy ' within an organization to express feelings and experiences that they would not otherwise share.
When the target audience is so different from decision makers that different terminology and points of view can be illuminated and understood (this information can be useful when constructing questionnaires for those audiences).
When desired information about behaviors and motivations is more complex than a questionnaire is likely to reveal. Through a series of well designed questions, focus groups can often get at more honest and in depth information.
When one is
Online and traditional focus groups.
Focus groups are a method of group interviewing in which the interaction between the moderator and the group, as well as the interaction between group members, serves to elicit information and insights in response to carefully designed questions. The dynamic nature of the questions asked by the moderator and the group process, produces a level of insight that is rarely derived from 'unidirectional ' information collection devises such as observation, surveys and less interactional interview techniques. Methods of recording and analyzing information gathered during focus groups, and strategies for collecting unbiased information have helped focus group research to gain credibility as an accurate and useful source of information collection. Focus group methods gained popularity in marketing research. In the 1980s social scientists recognized the value of focus groups for qualitative research and adapted the techniques accordingly. In the 1990s focus group strategies have become widely researched and used in social sciences and human service organizations.
Focus groups, like any other program evaluation method, are more appropriate for some situations than others. Morgan & Krueger (1993) discuss instances when focus groups are beneficial:
When the security provided by the group allows members who are lower in the 'power hierarchy ' within an organization to express feelings and experiences that they would not otherwise share.
When the target audience is so different from decision makers that different terminology and points of view can be illuminated and understood (this information can be useful when constructing questionnaires for those audiences).
When desired information about behaviors and motivations is more complex than a questionnaire is likely to reveal. Through a series of well designed questions, focus groups can often get at more honest and in depth information.
When one is
References: http://surveymagazine.org/?p=315 http://www.groupsplus.com/pages/adage0214.htm http://www.researchincorporated.com/online-focus-groups-can-they-work-for-you http://www.focusgrouptips.com/online-focus-group.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_group http://www.useit.com/papers/focusgroups.html