|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
How to Foil the Focus Group Follies
05/01/09
A focus group can derail before you know it. One or two participants dominate the discussion or the talk goes off topic. Or worse, everybody clams up.
A discussion guide and an experienced facilitator can help ensure your store's focus groups stay on track, said the presenters of the CAMEX 2009 educational session Bringing Students into Focus: A How-to Guide for Conducting Focus Groups.
The presenters—Bob McCampbell, executive director of the Bay Tree Bookstore, University of California-Santa Cruz; Val Ross, director, Arizona State University Bookstore, Tempe; and Tristy Hillestad, director, University of Denver Bookstore, Denver, CO—have used focus groups at their stores to get feedback on everything from refund policies and women's apparel sales to buyback habits, marketing preferences, and online shopping.
They agreed focus groups need a casual, comfortable environment to relax participants and encourage candid comments. But questions shouldn't be tossed out on the fly. Write questions in advance in a discussion guide for the facilitator.
"The discussion guide is meant to stimulate discussion," McCampbell explained. "Start with broad questions and narrow down as you continue in the session."
Ross said it's helpful to first clarify what you're trying to learn from the group. That will help you zero in on the right questions to ask, as well as determine what type of participants to invite.
If you plan to explore topics in depth, McCampbell advised limiting questions to no more than four topics. "More than that and students are likely to get bored with the whole thing and then they burn out," he said.
Prioritize the topics and questions, putting the most important ones at the beginning of the discussion. Some questions will arouse a lot of reaction; others will fall flat. Time may run out before you get to all the topics, but write questions for one or two extra topics in case you exhaust the main list ahead of schedule.
Ross said he likes to open a focus group with a couple "easy questions" that every participant can answer, just to get the ball rolling before delving into more critical matters. He suggested testing your questions to make sure they'll elicit the kind of information you seek.
Avoid questions that can be answered Yes/No or ask for opinions on hypothetical situations. "Ask people what they do, not what they will do," McCampbell said. To capture statistical information, ask participants to fill out a short questionnaire rather than spend discussion time gathering it.
Hillestad's store has used focus groups to get an overview of a broad variety of topics, rather than a deeper look at a limited number of topics. Many of the questions dealt with how the student participants shop for particular types of products or whether they knew about certain store policies.
"In a focus group we found some students weren't aware they could sell back books from other sources," she noted. "That created a marketing opportunity for us."
But a discussion guide is only as good as the facilitator who wields it. "I can't emphasize this enough," said McCampbell. "If you're doing the facilitation yourself, you have to have good facilitation skills. If someone goes off track, you have to be able to pull them back."
A skillful facilitator can hold the eager talkers in check yet entice comments from the bashful. The facilitator also must remain neutral, not get defensive when the store is criticized or correct a participant's misinformation. Though that doesn't mean the store can't follow up with individual participants once the group has ended.
"These sessions are a great opportunity to advocate for your store," Ross said. "After the sessions we were able to clarify some things. We said, 'You asked about this during the discussion.'"
The presenters suggested looking for a facilitator outside of the store staff, someone who doesn't have a vested interest in the discussion, such as faculty members.
However, the facilitator should not be responsible for taking notes. That chore could be handled by a store employee. But if you're conducting more than one focus group on the same topics, the same person should serve as note-taker for all. "When we had two note-takers, it was not as helpful or as consistent," Ross said.
Even if you record the discussion on video or audio, have someone take notes to track the recording. The note-taker should plan on writing up the notes immediately after each group session.
For more tips and advice from the presenters, see their PowerPoint at www.camex.org/handouts/BringingStudentsIntoFocus_Presentation_3-05.pdf.
—Cindy Ruckman
Sound Off!
Share your views on this topic with other readers. Just fill out the form below and then click "Post Message." You will need to "reload" or "refresh" your browser to view your comments.
Name:
E-mail:
Message:
To post a message, type the characters that are displayed in the above image.
|