FOCUS GROUP RESEARCH

Since focus groups were developed in the 1940s, they have been utilized in such broadly divergent areas as assessing the effectiveness of marketing materials for physicians to assessing likely community response to various public policy changes to learning about consumer reaction to new products.

Focus group research is particularly well suited to answering those questions best answered by group interaction because it allows for complex responses as well as contextual responses. Focus groups provide rapid feedback on research questions, generate a range and intensity of opinion, and clarify the views of group members.

The intention of focus groups is to gather qualitative data from one or more populations of selected participants. Effectively designed and moderated focus groups offer powerful results and have great flexibility and utility as a qualitative research method. Because such a wide range of subjective data (including opinions, beliefs, feelings, attitudes, behavioral predictions and self reports) is available in this format, focus groups have been effectively utilized in a wide range of marketing and public opinion research. They offer the client or researcher deeper, more personal and precise insights into the question at hand, and they further can generate a context in which to understand quantitative research data.

At Matrix we provide design and moderation of both traditional, face to face focus groups and Internet enabled teleweb groups.

 

Both Dr. Brala and Mr. Wederich conduct focus group research and have done so for a wide range of clientele. Recognizing that careful design of focus group projects is imperative, we work closely and rapidly with our clients to blueprint the project, specify and refine research questions and design the moderator’s guide. We can recruit participants or rely on a pool of suitable individuals provided by you and we can conduct the groups at any suitable facility arranged by you or Matrix.

 

 

Matrix offers both traditional focus groups and teleweb groups to meet the diverse needs of our clients.

 

For more detailed information about traditional focus group moderator training, please refer to the web site of our business partner, Focus Group Dimensions.

 



Both traditional or teleweb focus groups may be effectively utilized in a range of applications:

  • Generation of qualitative data as a freestanding outcome or as a component of a broader research project

  • Collecting qualitative data from which are generated research hypotheses which may be utilized to design and refine subsequent quantitative research

  • Study of product development and preferences, values, attitudes, political images and issues, institutions, services, programs and motivation
  • Generating qualitative dialog about a desired topic which subsequently can be used in selecting, designing or improving quantitative research tools

  • Elaborating and clarifying quantitative research data in order to maximize extraction of all available information

  • Further study and clarification of previously obtained survey research data in order to maximize extraction of all available information

  • Assessing the projected response of a target audience to a new program, service or product before investing fully in delivery

  • Impact studies of various programs and system or organizational processes on groups or subgroups

While both of these methods may be effectively used to gather desired information, and both offer richer data than individual interviews due to the group interaction, each has it's own distinct advantages.

Essentially, focus groups are designed to provide information that cannot be easily gathered by other methods. They provide an opportunity for people with first hand knowledge to share their views and expertise in depth through discussion with others. Unlike surveys, they are not designed to collect info that can be linked or generalized back to a larger group or population.


 

     Matrix Performance Consulting © 2004