What are focus groups?
A. A number of respondents gathered together to generate ideas through the discussion of, and reaction to, specific stimuli. Under the steerage of a moderator, focus groups are often used in exploratory work or when the subject matter involves social activities, habits and status. Some are paid some are not. Some you trial products, some you just answer questions in a group.
Focus groups are brought together to test a concept and see how it plays with various demographics. Focus groups are used by people developing advertising campaigns to make sure their message, whether print ad or television commercial, says what they want it to say. They are also increasingly used by politicians to hone their own advertising, either to get elected or to sell their policies to their constituents. Focus groups are the work of market researchers. People are recruited to serve on a focus group and are typically paid a small fee for their time. They fill out questionnaires that rigorously identify their demographic group. Age, lifestyle, income, attitudes, political leanings and so on are all used to categorize focus group members into a particular segment of society. The focus groups are shown an ad or a commercial and are questioned on their reaction to it. Does it appeal to their demographic, or does it ‘skew older’? Market researchers have specific ideas of what demogra
Focus groups are organized small group discussions. They are “focused” in two ways. First, the persons being interviewed are similar in some way (e.g., army family members new to the installation as a group, family service providers as a group). Second, the purpose of the interview is to gather information about a single topic or narrow range of topics guided by a set of open discussion questions. The intent of focus groups is to develop a broad and deep understanding of the topic of interest rather than a quantitative summary. The emphasis is on insights, responses, and opinions rather than specific facts. The result often is a richer understanding of what is needed by clientele, what program responses they might find appealing or appropriate, and what programs really made a difference for their families. Focus groups help you identify needs because they give potential clients a chance to describe where their true interests lie. They help you market programs because they help you focu
