More and more organizations are leveraging online data collection methodologies. Almost every company has experimented with an online survey and when properly implemented, these serve as an excellent way to obtain cost-effective and accurate input from a large number of respondents. Focus groups provide another option. We’re often asked can these be conducted online.

Interaction is a Key Aspect of Focus Groups

Today, many companies are exploring online focus groups as a way to obtain qualitative data. One of the important aspects of a focus group is the interaction that occurs from the group members. For an online focus group to be effective, you will want to recreate this interaction in a virtual environment. You can make interactivity more possible when participants can:

• see the questions posed by the facilitator
• see the responses of all the other participants, and
• have the opportunity to response to both the facilitator and the participants.

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The Beauty of an Online Focus Group

Just as with a physical focus group, the online focus group facilitator inserts questions as the discussion develops. The beauty of an online focus group is that you can create a group that includes people who are geographically dispersed. Keep these ideas in mind when you create your own online focus group:

a. You can space out the session. Similar to a face-to-face group you will want to recruit qualified participants for an interactive session. Rather than holding the focus group for a 90 minute period, the value of having it online is that participants can log in and out over two to three periods to respond to views and questions. It is possible with this approach to actually gain more information per participant than you might with a traditional face-to-face group. It is also possible to access more senior level people who might not have the time to attend a physical group but are willing to participate from the convenience of their office. In addition, time zones and geography become moot because participants will have the opportunity to participate in the discussion over a period of time.

b. Encourage deliberate thinking. When face-to-face participants need to respond in the moment, sometimes a first reaction is what you are looking for, however, an online focus group allows for people to consider the question over a longer period of time and potentially enable a more thoughtful response. Also those respondents who may be more hesitant to respond in a group but more comfortable offering their responses in writing may actually be more engaged in a virtual environment.

c. Use log in ids. Each online focus group participant is given a log-in id and password. All of their responses are recorded against this log in and password so it is much easier to accurately capture who said what exactly. With today’s technology you can even record the audio and video of an online focus group. The company on whose behalf the research is being conducted can view the online proceedings as they are occurring.

All the pre-work associated with a face-to-face focus group applies to conducting an online version- participant qualification, participant recruitment, recruitment script development, discussion guide development and testing, etc. Testing the guide in advance is critical because it will be harder for participants to ask for question clarification. It may also be important to ascertain the participants technology skills and make this a part of the qualification criteria.

In addition, you will need the technology to conduct the group and you should designate one client contact to communicate with the moderator. All the post session work also applies such as data analysis, report production, etc.

Your Online Focus Group Checklist

When conducting the online focus group you will want:

 

1. The moderator to be thoroughly familiar with the platform and its capabilities and do a test run before the group discussion is held.

2. The participants to be provided a log-in, password and instructions by email and receive a phone call to make sure they have everything they need and understand what to do and when.

3. To begin with an introduction of the moderator, research purpose and guidelines. You will want to post this information as well. You will need to explain how the technology works since this may be the first time participants have participated in an online group.

4. To set up the group so participants can log in and out over a period of a few days and can review everyoneís responses to each question. Assign numbers to ever questions and instruct respondents to use the question number in front of each of their answers. Questions should be typed in UPPERCASE so participants will recognize the questions as one posed by the facilitator/moderator.

5. To instruct respondents how to answer special tasks (e.g. reviewing whiteboard or going to a website). This will allow them to indicate their completion of the task with a greeting and to withhold all comments until everyone returns and moderator resumes the discussion.

6. The moderator should to sign in at least 20 minutes before each session. Each group should have the opportunity to participate in several sessions before the group closes. Schedule group sessions based on the time zones of participants.

7. To establish procedures as to how a respondent can be uninvited during the group should this rare measure become necessary.

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FAQ:

• Geographic flexibility: Participants can join from diverse locations without travel constraints.
• Flexible timing: Sessions can be spaced over days, allowing participants to log in and out at their convenience.
• Deeper reflection: Participants have more time to consider responses, leading to thoughtful insights.
• Increased engagement: Written responses can encourage participation from those hesitant to speak in person.

• Recruit and qualify participants carefully, including assessing technology skills.
• Develop and test discussion guides in advance to ensure clarity.
• Assign a client contact to coordinate with the moderator.
• Conduct moderator training and platform test runs.

• Participants receive login credentials and clear instructions.
• Moderator introduces the session, explains technology, and sets guidelines.
• Questions are clearly numbered and formatted for easy recognition.
• Participants can review others’ responses and complete special tasks collaboratively.
• Moderator manages multiple sessions accommodating different time zones.
• Procedures exist for participant removal if necessary.

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