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Focus Groups - Frequently Asked Questions
What is a focus group?
A focus group is generally a pre-defined group of people (usually referred to as respondents) brought together to provide insight into a particular subject, this can include but will not be limited to a company, person, brand, product, or service.
Focus groups take place in a variety of different locations and venues and are held at various times in the day or evening and can vary in duration. The standard focus group is usually between 1.5 and 2 hours in duration.
For any particular subject there can be single or multiple focus groups held.
How are people selected for focus groups?
Selections for focus groups begin with the client determining the ideal respondent type. This can be broad or very specific depending on the requirement and can include but will not be limited to their gender, social classification, age, ethnicity, location, marital status, interests, number of children, employment status, profession, education and much more.
Once the respondent type is determined usually a 'screener' is created. The screener is usually in the form of a questionnaire which provides a blue-print for market research interviewers to question potential focus group respondents quickly and effectively and is specially designed to immediately identify 'unsuitable' candidates whom are then screened out and are hence unsuitable for the focus group. The practice of screening out unsuitable people is generally used due to the amount of people that maybe interviewed at any one time for consideration of a focus group. Not only does it save the interviewer time in proceeding with an unsuitable candidate but it also saves the time of the person being interviewed.
The end result of successful screening is the number of required respondents that fit the market research focus groups requirements perfectly and most importantly are 'available' to take part for the proposed time/s and date/s. Sometimes, the selected focus group respondents are given pre-tasks to carry out before the actual focus group. This can include anything from keeping a diary of their eating habits to cutting out advertisements that are of interest to them.
How are focus group participants incentivised?
To attract the correct focus group participant to attend a focus group discussion usually requires an incentive of some sort. After-all, even though most people like to give an opinion they also only have so much time to spare and have their own commitments to consider, this is why an incentive often helps.
In general most focus group participants are paid a cash amount on attendance of a focus group. These are usually paid to them on arrival within a pre-prepared envelope and are signed for by the recipient in that they have received the promised amount and that they understand and agree to the terms of the focus group.
Other incentive options can include vouchers, memberships or free products or services. This is not usual but is an acceptable form of incentive depending on the study.
How are potential focus group respondents found?
Focus group participants are found using a variety of methods depending on the requirements of the client. These can include street interviewing, telephone interviewing, from client customer opt-in lists, general advertising and through the focus group recruiters own internal database.
MRFGR have our own dedicated webpage for people interested in taking part in market research focus groups: Register here.
What happens in a focus group?
The vast majority of people that have taken part in focus groups have found them engaging, fun and interesting. For the respondent they get to learn more about the client, engage in a lively discussion, be part of the improvement or development of a product or service, meet new people and enjoy some great hospitality provided by the venue (food and refreshments) whilst being rewarded.
For the client they get to know a wealth of information that can lead to the improvement of their image, product or service and ultimately their bottom line.
Generally on arrival the respondents are greeted and seated in a reception area where they are processed and paid their incentive (in some instances incentives are paid on completion of the focus group). Once they have been processed they are seated in the focus group room and introduced to the moderator (discussion leader) whom leads and questions the focus group for the entirety of the session . The room is often recorded for audio and/or video for the purpose of analysing the discussion afterward.
The focus group format is specially designed to allow the moderator to gain the maximum amount of information from the focus group participants within the planned session time.
How often do research groups take place?
There are hundreds of groups taking place each week across the UK. They range from small informal meetings in a hotel or cafe to professional sessions that take place in recording studios. There are strict criteria for being invited to any particular research group.
If you have any questions or queries in regard to taking part in market research focus groups then please email us with your query.
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