In the previous blog post, we discussed options for interviewing under current social distancing practices. In this post, we look at options for focus groups.
Improvements in technology mean that virtual or online focus groups have become more popular in recent years, and it’s likely they will become more common if face-to-face focus groups are not possible for several months.
Online focus group software
There are many options for online focus groups. We use Zoom (although this needs a pro subscription for more than one person over 40 minutes). Of course, if you are moderating an online focus group, it’s important you become familiar with the software that you are using in advance.
As software has developed, there is increasing flexibility in the way an online focus group is run. An advantage is that most software packages allow for direct recording of the focus group and save details of chat transcripts. Sharing multimedia items is easy for example: images, video, whiteboard diagrams, audio and mini surveys are all possible, but make sure you load and test these beforehand.
Most virtual focus group software allows for live group discussion, as well as sending individual chat messages to a moderator. The latter can be useful if participants want to share sensitive information. Communicating through a variety of formats is possible so you could consider mixing traditional verbal discussion plus chat functions and online polls. You can adapt many conventional focus group activities to an online experience, for example, you could use chat sent to emulate exercises such as brainstorming. You can also use online break out rooms where participants can be put into smaller groups for activities and the moderator can drop into monitor the progress of each group.
Moderating an online focus group
Online software offers functionality that can help a moderator to facilitate the group in ways that would be tricky to replicate in a face-to-face setting. Chat functions can provide a means of getting the moderator’s attention and preventing more vocal respondents dominating discussions. This is useful because visual cues may only be limited to a participant’s face so there are less non-verbal cues than in face to face focus groups.
Potential issues with online focus groups
Whist online focus groups can have many advantages, it’s important to remember that participants need access to appropriate technology (i.e. webcam, browser, earphones and microphone). It’s possible this may exclude some potential participants who don’t have access to technology. More broadly, online focus groups face technical risks for example, broadband and connectivity issues and local hardware issues. Some participants may not be comfortable in an online focus group if they do not have good digital skills or are reluctant to appear on camera. It can be useful to allow a bit more time at the beginning for people to settle in and get familiar with their online set up. If your software allows, provide participants access to the software before the group formally starts so that they can test their set up and ensure that it is working.
A further consideration is that the choice of online focus groups needs to be suitable for the research topic. For example, if the requirement is to touch, taste or smell something this is not possible online. Anything that requires face-to-face physical interactions will not be possible, and this includes payment of any incentives for participation on the day.
As the use of online focus groups is likely to increase in the coming months, we’ll be keeping a check on how these potential advantages and disadvantages balance out.