These fall into four categories, each of which is detailed below. Carry out a focus group study if you want to … These should be included in a detailed guide given to the moderator. Also, check out the article about basic question tips. Asked right at the beginning of a focus group session, introductory questions should, in Salmonsâ words, âestablish a safe space within the groupâ. How could the sales representative help her choose the best laptop for her needs? Where do you usually shop for household cleaning products? When you want to test a prototype. Online Resources. A focus group is a qualitative research methodology that brings together a small group of carefully chosen individuals under the guidance of a moderator to discuss a topic in detail and collect in-depth opinion. Can you tell us about your experience with our online support system? Carefully control the flow of the conversation and encourage everyone to contribute, 10. Note: X could be a product or brand name, a service, an action, or a subject area. The following three questions framed the discussion for all the focus groups. Whereas an interview can be lengthy and provide only feedback from a singular perspective, the focus group can capitalize on the group setting by utilizing peer interactions and dynamics to gather a (relatively) quick and general overview of the questions … Positive questions should also be asked before negative ones. Which of these steps do you take when you are purchasing electronics online: 1) read professional tests and ratings reviews, 2) read users’ comments, or 3) look at the device at a retail store? Asking Questions In Group Settings. - What is the average tenure of workers who quit? To ensure this is the case, establish clear criteria for inclusion and screen all potential members against these requirements. While itâs best to follow a discussion guide, if valuable new topics and ideas arise, facilitators should be able to adapt the script somewhat to allow for exploration of these unanticipated areas. Focus groups are facilitated group discussions. Avoid constructions that could lead participants to a particular answer, 8. When you need to assess opinions about a current service or website feature Keep the following advice in mind to ensure that you develop questions that yield qualitative data thatâs of maximum value to you. Designing and Conducting Focus Group Interviews, by Richard A. Krueger, is concise resource with specific steps and tips on conducting group interviews.. Focus group studies are commonly used in social and behavioral research to bring out insights and understandings that regular questionnaires or individual interviews may not offer. Watch out for focus group questions that might imply prejudice, that are intimidating or accusatory, or that are embarrassing to answer. Donât confuse group members with lengthy questions that have multiple parts or that could be interpreted in various ways. feels that their uniqueness is valued, they are more likely to bring their whole selves to work, including those aspects of their identity that distinguish them from the dominant or leadership group By including alternatives that cover all the types, you help to ensure that your focus group flows naturally and follows the correct arc. It can be used as an easy guide to keep you on schedule and make sure you keep track of all of the many pieces involved in having a successful focus group. What are they saying? There are three types of focus group questions: 1. - Is there a lack of training that is affecting tenure? Anticipate questions about the means of selection and be able to provide the rationale for those decisions. Unless central to the research objective, avoid questions about sensitive or contentious matters, 10. Salmons also recommends that if you need to ask about religious or political beliefs, you do so in a closed manner (for instance, you could ask members to provide a rating on a scale from 1 to 10). - Does this group of employees require more training (e.g., staff dealing with persons with challenging behaviors or complex medical needs)? - Can you give us a few examples? Writing focus group questions in the moderator's guide or focus group questionnaire is your first step. Focus group recruitment survey questions + sample questionnaire template Hardware Product Evaluation Survey Template is used to evaluate the importance of various attributes for a hardware product. If you were to tell a friend about our service, what would you say? Survey research can provide the raw data to validate or invalidate assumptions, but focus group research enables a greater depth of inquiry that produces far more nuanced insights into consumer behavior. 5. The above said, Salmons argues that because you ideally want plenty of interaction between participants, itâs not advisable to ask focus group questions that encourage individuals to launch into extremely lengthy answers. 14. That way, participants will be more motivated to answer carefully and will remain focused throughout the session. And try projective techniques. Seek input from everyone involved to make sure you have a thorough understanding of the aim(s) of the research. Tell me about one time when you called the customer service number about a delivery problem? Building an Evidence Base for Nonprobability Sample Sizes. She recommends starting with âsomething that elicits stories about a common experience,â stimulating the participants to engage one another and quickly foster a sense of community Engagement questions are also commonly used to get participants talking about the research topic â such queries should be general and easy to answer. Why itâs a poor question: Participants can answer âyesâ or ânoâ without any further elaboration, so it reveals very little about the topic. When using a focus group in marketing research, you must ask the right questions for accurate results. If the latter happens, it can tarnish the data, so encourage timid participants to talk by explicitly asking for their opinions and requesting clarification and elaboration when necessary. 1. Whatâs the one thing our product doesnât do that you wish it did? Adobe™ PDF and MS Office™ formatted files require software viewer programs to properly read them. Obtaining useful results relies on having clear goals at the outset. A people person who knows how to handle both extroverts and introverts is ideal. You have limited time with participants, so you want to limit your list of focus group questions to those that will bring the most value (between 8 and 12 in total). What Is a Focus Group and Why Is It Invaluable in Market Research? Keep the phrasing simple, and youâll save time and elicit higher quality feedback. Candidates are usually given some information relating to a business … What percent of new hires are recruited by current workers? - Whoâs had a similar experience to [Name]? For example, qualifying questions ask about the neighborhood where they live, their race/ethnicity, or their health insurance status. If you could change one thing about the packaging of our products, what would it be? Ask them about their favorite hobbies and interests and what they enjoy the most about the … Engagement questions: introduce participants to and make them comfortable with the topic of discussion 2. - Is there a definite time of tenure relating to their position? When youâre looking to launch a new product • Questions that qualify people into your focus group recruitment targets. While focus groups can be an invaluable form of qualitative research, their success is entirely contingent on how well you run them and how effective the questions are at uncovering the insights youâre hoping to find. As Janet Salmons, principal consultant for Vision2Lead and author of the book Doing Qualitative Research Online, says, âFocus groups are beneficial when you are interested in how participants respond not only to the product or service in question, but also to each other and the mood of the group as a whole. Depending on what information you are seeking and who you want to recruit, you may have several qualifying questions. If you’re using an employee engagement survey to gauge that impact, make sure to focus on key performance drivers and ask questions that will truly surface whether employees feel motivated to put … Why aren’t employees staying? Are coworkers having difficulty working with each other? This method is very suitable for collecting data from children, youths, and parents. 13. - What kind of support is offered to new employees until they demonstrate some competencies to perform the job expectations? - Do employee exit interviews pick up anything that can relate to his/her departure? The curriculum and intended learning outcomes . Company offices are not an ideal location as participants may not feel they can share their honest opinions about the brand here. Am I right that this packaging design looks a little less professional than the other? What is the vacancy rate for the position in question? What are you ultimately hoping to discover by conducting a focus group? We give you the insight you need to write all types of focus group questions with the help of proven examples and expert advice. However, focus group interviews must be carefully planned and conducted. When did you last purchase a product from this range? Strong focus group questions are critical to successful market research. Clarify your objectives first, envision the sort of results youâd like to be sitting with at the end of the session, and then using this insight, brainstorm questions thatâll do a good job of extracting the kind of information you most need. Why itâs a poor question: Double questions and questions with multiple components just confuse participants and result in weaker responses or no response at all. Guidelines for Conducting a Focus Group is provided by Eliot & Associates.In this guide you will find checklists and samples of items such as focus group questions, recruitment flyer, invitee tracking … When itâs critical to better understand a particular audience segment or user persona Exit question: check to see if anything was missed in the discussion AN EXAMPLE Questions for a Focus Group on Dental Flossing Focus Group Interviewing --- Richard Krueger 4 Beginning the Focus Group Discussion The first few moments in focus group discussion are critical. Topics to be covered are drawn from the following list. Instead, set clear boundaries by, for instance, asking members to tell you about âone incidentâ or to give you âtwo examplesâ. Include stimulating queries that call for creativity and analytical thinking, 11. 5 Examples of When to Use Focus Groups in Marketing, 4 Key Types of Focus Group Questions: 25+ Examples & Samples, 17 Examples of Effective Market Research Focus Group Questions, Examples of Ineffective Focus Group Questions, Tips for Writing Great Focus Group Questions, 1. Although notes should be taken throughout the group discussion, itâs also important to record the dialogue so that you can be confident nothingâs been missed. With all those examples in mind, how will you repurpose them for your own focus group? It must be immediately clear what youâre asking. - Can you say anything else about that? Focus groups yield the kind of rich, layered feedback youâd be hard-pressed to obtain through quantitative research methods, and theyâre also ideal if you want to observe how opinions are formed and expressed in a collective context. These questions should be structured to draw out as much information from members as possible. What three things impact whether you do X? A good moderator will make sure that the group discussion stays on topic, that all focus group questions are covered, and that vocal group members donât monopolize the conversation. 4. For instance, you could ask them to complete a sentence or sort descriptive words into piles. Usually, itâs best to start general and ask progressively more specific questions as the session goes on. 6. - What is the baseline level of performance in regard to retention, turnover, and vacancy rate? Whoâs had a different experience from [Name]? 25+ Key Focus Group Questions: How to Choose, Write and Ask the Best Questions Strong focus group questions are critical to successful market research. 1. I know I am looking forward to a hike this Saturday! Are you hiring the right person for the position? Go through your script and delete any question that doesnât entirely deserve to be there, thatâs not likely to generate new information or that can be answered through other means. Once the exit questions have been asked, donât rush to wrap up the discussion. If you do have to touch on sensitive topics, word questions carefully so that group members feel like they can share as much or as little as theyâre comfortable with, and without judgment. 1. $59 a month after 14 day trial expires. Learn more: FREE Focus Group Recruitment Questionnaire Survey Template Focus group question examples. As youâre asking for a fair chunk of participantsâ time, it is standard practice to offer them some form of compensation, often in the form of a participation fee which can range from $100 to $300+ per participant for a standard 90-minute session. 1. Instead, use wording that leaves the floor entirely open for participants. Are there any other points youâd like to make about this subject? Focus groups provide market research firms with efficient ways to garner qualitative data from several people at one time. Once you learn basic questions, try laddering. What is the organizational commitment level to retention. Certain questions might look great on paper but completely fail to deliver in practice. A typical employee focus group agenda includes: Welcome; Review of agenda; Review of meeting objectives; Confidentiality commitment to participants and from participants to each other; Review of ground rules; Introductions; Discussions of three to four focus group topics – for example: impact, root causes, expectations for improvement, possible solutions Are you experiencing these difficulties or concerns with employees across the board, or are there certain positions or places where these problems are the most critical (e.g., recruiting from very rural areas or from other demographic populations that may need a different training or more flexibility in times and places for training, flexible working schedules, or incentives for tenure)? Make sure questions donât alienate or shame participants, 9. You could also create a vignette that participants can discuss, like this example supplied by Salmons: A customer who uses a desktop at work was looking for a new laptop to use at home. This focus group survey template would help screen participants and get the necessary information to determine if they are the right participants you're looking for. As a general rule of thumb, five or questions is a suitable number for an average focus group session, and while they should be open-ended they should seek to elicit a specific response: “What do you think of our internal communications and … Exploration questions: get to the meat of the discussion 3. Choose an unbiased moderator with some knowledge on the subject, 3. Even in our digital age, focus groups are particularly valuable for marketers as a way to gain deeper insight into consumer interests, attitudes, motivations, and perceptions, and to learn more about how and why customers behave the way they do. Use open-ended constructions primarily, 6. I am sure this is a busy time for everyone. A focus group screener is a brief survey that specifies characteristics of the people you want to interview and study. If any of the inclusions in your script are confusing, ambiguous or redundant, you should find this out in the pilot run. During the initial brainstorm, make sure you develop questions that fall into each of the categories described above. How did you get here, and what was one funny or unusual thing you saw along the way? Step 1: Decide how you will use the focus group tool Do you like the fragrance of our skincare range? - Could changing that perspective improve retention? While you can and should vary the use of closed (dichotomous) questions, restricted questions (those that limit potential answers to a few options), and open-ended questions (those that make room for complex answers), remember to put the emphasis on the latter so that you can get into the âhowsâ and âwhysâ of consumer behavior and keep the conversation flowing. For example, a small business owner looking to validate a new marketing plan may opt to organize and run the focus group themselves. To do so, ask questions that are interesting and that call on both the left and right sides of the brain â questions that require respondents to reflect, to recall examples, to imagine, and to predict. Related to the recruitment and hiring of unclassified staff, what works well? You never know what might be revealed if you give participants time to chat openly at the end. As mentioned earlier, for focus group success, effective questions must be developed beforehand. Be careful of introducing bias into the group by phrasing queries in suggestive ways. - What did you do when that happened? Select and recruit group members who represent your target audience, 8. You use a screener to recruit and select respondents for focus groups or depth interviews. 11. Define the Purpose of the Focus Group – Before you start recruiting members for your focus group, you’ll need to clearly identify the goal of the discussion, which will influence the information gathered. Prioritize questions that define the scope of the potential answers, 7. - Are employees leaving for other agencies? In your opinion, what are three problems â if you believe any exist â with our service? As with any focus group, work should be done beforehand to: ensure open-ended discussion questions are clear and simple ; that engagement is scaleable ; Online Focus Groups Can Discourage Engaged Discussion • Allow one or two people to dominate or to use the focus group for their own agenda. When you’re working with a large group of people, there isn’t much room for specific questions. If group members feel humiliated or misunderstood, theyâll withdraw and contribute little to the discussion. The facilitator is the person guiding the discussion. ... which that strategy could lead to distortions in the data. Itâs often necessary to arrange more than one focus group discussion to ensure that the information gathered is, in fact, representative of the opinions and perceptions of a broader population. Do the employees that have left have something in common (e.g., supervisor, shift, location, or lack of important knowledge skills, and aptitude)? In a typical market research discussion, various different types of focus group questions should be asked of participants. Recruitment and Retention Toolkit Building a Recruitment and Retention Plan Step 2: Decide on the Priority Recruitment and Retention Focus (Job Position) [2.1.0.f] Decide on the Priority Recruitment and Retention Focus (Job Position) Quick Tool [2.1.2] Recruitment and Retention Discussion Questions/Reflections [2.1.3.a.1] Start with the end goal and work backwards, 2. Used to wrap up a focus group discussion, exit questions play an important role in ensuring that nothing has been left unsaid and that all aspects of the topic have been covered in full. ABC is the best rated shampoo. Why itâs a poor question: Itâs far too vague and potentially controversial â participants may not want to answer as it touches on their personal political beliefs. What are your thoughts on our public education system? How did you feel afterwards? Engaging in this type of research, from an IRB perspective, requires certain considerations and safeguards to protect participants. Your research goals will help inform how much money and time you can realistically spend on focus group researcher. See the article about moderator guide. This all helps to improve attendance and motivation. Recruitment and Retention Discussion Questions/Reflections [2.1.3.a.1], Building a Recruitment and Retention Plan, Step 2: Decide on the Priority Recruitment and Retention Focus (Job Position) [2.1.0.f], Decide on the Priority Recruitment and Retention Focus (Job Position) Quick Tool [2.1.2], Needs, Issues and Concerns Worksheet [2.1.3.a.4.a], Assignment 3: Develop Objectives [2.1.3.a.5], Assignment 4: Identify Resources and Constraints [2.1.3.a.6], Assignment 5: Identify Potential Options [2.1.3.a.7], Assignment 6: Establish and Apply Screening Criteria [2.1.3.a.8], Assignment 7: Develop Alternatives [2.1.3.a.9], Assignment 8: Evaluate Alternatives [2.1.3.a.10], Indicator and Ranking Worksheet [2.1.3.a.10.a], Assignment 9: Select the Priority Challenge (Usually a Job Position) that will be the Focus [2.1.3.a, Tools to Help with Making Decisions [2.1.3.b.1], How to Hold Effective Meetings [2.1.3.c.1], Summary Report Template on Findings in Recruitment and Retention Research [2.1.3.a.2], Organizational Recruitment and Retention Research Workbook, Introduction: Building a Recruitment and Retention Plan [2.1.0], How the Challenges of the Behavioral Health Workforce Affect Recruitment and Retention [2.1.0.c], Overview to Building a Recruitment and Retention Plan [2.1.0.d], Step 1: Gather Organizational Baseline Information [2.1.0.e], Step 3: Analyze the Selected Job Position [2.1.0.g], Step 4: Write an Accurate Job Description [2.1.0.h], Step 5: Start the Plan: Identify the Strategy and Intervention [2.1.0.i], Step 6: Develop the Action Plan [2.1.0.j]. As the name suggests, this type of focus group question is used to dive deep into the research topic and elicit detailed responses from participants that offer insight into their needs, wants, and concerns. What do you think about the process of booking a table at a restaurant?