Focus Groups (Live)

From Clinicaltools.com

Purpose

To elicit utility, attitude, and preference information from members of the target audience.

Goals

The moderator and project team should work together to set measurable goals for each focus group (e.g., "Determine whether parents would use an online substance abuse prevention program with their children at home").

Participants

The moderator and project team should work together to develop a description of the intended target audience. The description should be modified into a screening instrument that is used to find representative participants. Ideally, focus groups should have 4-6 participants. Fewer participants might not yield the range of opinions expected, while more participants might make the group unwieldy for the time and space involved.

Materials

All materials (with the possible exception of food and beverages) should be ready by noon the day of the event. All employees should know their roles and should have read over the printed materials prior to the event. Materials include:

Chairs
Tables
Projector
Food
Beverages
Pens
Name tags
Tape recorders
Printed materials
- Consent forms for participants 21+
- Assent forms for participants under 21 (and consent forms for their parents)
- Demographic/habit questionnaire
- Pre-group survey (optional)
- Introductory script
- Script and questions
- Screenshots (optional)
- Program materials for participants to read (optional)
- Post-group survey (optional)

Conduct

Dress in business-casual attire.
Be polite and courteous to all participants.
Make sure that all participants are escorted in and out of the office by a staff member.
Do not leave participants alone in any room at any time.

Reporting

When the session is over, write a brief report that details the overall response to each question.