8 Hot Insider Tips from Years of Moderating

By Rich Thau

I've never blogged before about the art of structuring and moderating a successful focus group, but since the folks at Focus Pointe Global asked me to do this, I'm honored to take a stab at it. So, here goes, in sequential order from recruiting to executing:

1) How do you avoid recruiting highly opinionated people into your group so that they don't try to dominate the conversation? Well, there's no sure-fire way of achieving that, but many years ago I started inserting a question into the screener that seems to have helped mitigate the problem: Ask whether the prospective respondents have any bumper stickers on their cars that convey a political message. If they do, that's telling you something: They want to try to convert others to their point of view. You probably don't want them in your group.

2) If you want typical adults ages 22-64 in your groups, try not to host the groups before 5:30 p.m. Sessions conducted during business hours on a weekday tend to be filled with people who are not ideal respondents. Occasionally lunch-time sessions attract good respondents. Also, I've done successful groups over the weekend—but who wants to make a habit of doing groups on a weekend?

3) It makes sense to meet the recruits before bringing them in for the session. Sometimes you spot someone who shouldn't be there—perhaps they're asleep, or not fully engaged—and taking a quick look can help avoid some uncomfortable moments during a group. It also helps to ask folks stationed at the welcome desk if any respondents look familiar, like “professional respondents.”

4) I almost always re-screen groups by asking a key question differently in the re-screening than in the original screening. It's a great way to find people who should have been screened out originally, but weren't. I also regularly try to understand discrepancies between the original screening and the re-screening by pulling people out of the waiting room and asking them to explain the discrepancy. Sometimes the gap is explainable, and sometimes it's not. And when it's not, I've often paid the respondent and sent him/her home.

5) Nothing sets me off more than respondents who try to game the focus group system—they arrive three or four minutes after the group starts, so they expect to get paid without having to attend. I make it a hard rule with facilities: If the respondent isn't there by the time the group starts, they don't get paid unless I take them while in progress (something I am loath to do). The recruiting screener told them they needed to be there 20 minutes before the session starts, so if they are late, no payment.

6) My firm specializes in moment-to-moment dial testing, where we get continuous feedback on video presentations of various types during the focus group. If you ever conduct a session using the dials for this purpose, you MUST not only give detailed instructions, but also conduct a quick warm-up to make sure the instructions are understood. After moderating hundreds of sessions with the dials, I've noticed that there's at least one person in each group who does not follow the instructions—and as moderator I don't know who it is, what they're doing wrong, or how to set them straight, until I do a warm-up.

7) Never moderate groups back-to-back; always take a half hour break between groups to do a "brain dump" of what you learned, eat something, and consult with the client. We typically run groups from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and then from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

8) The most effective time-saving device I've come across for report writing is to do a digital audio backup of my session with my own recorder, and to sync the time on the recorder to the time on an easy-to-read digital stop watch that I place in front of me. When someone says something I want to make sure not to miss, I write down the name of the person and something they said, along with the time, so my associates and I can find it easily on the audio afterwards.

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Rich Thau is President and Founder of Manhattan-based Presentation Testing, Inc. (http://www.presentationtesting.com). You can reach him at richthau@presentationtesting.com or 212-760-4358.

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The opinions expressed in this blog post are Rich Thau's and not necessarily those of Focus Pointe Global. 

6 Essentials Of Effective Focus Group Note Taking

In our last post, we took a look at some of the key characteristics of a focus group note taker. Now it’s time to narrow our focus slightly and take a closer look at the practices and techniques that every effective focus group note taker should know.

While they may not have as an important a role as the moderator, note takers play a key role in the success of your focus group sessions. By recording detailed documentation of focus group data, they provide a guide for marketing researchers to understand the overall context, environment, feeling and atmosphere of every focus group session.

There are 6 principle types of information that the focus group note taker is responsible for documenting:

1. Quotes -- Quotations capture the spirit of each speaker’s statement, illustrating an important point of view and providing insightful or qualitative data relevant to the area of study and client requirements.
2. Non-Verbal Cues -- Head nodding, laughter, discomfort, pauses…every human gesture carries meanings that vary between cultures. In order to provide analysts with the most valuable data possible, note takers should make note of these movements without drawing conclusions.
3. Wording and Timing -- Establishing context is an essential element of the focus group note taker’s job. Therefore, it’s important to note the language that the moderator uses as well. For instance: by marking the moments where a probing question was asked, analysts are better able to determine the nuances of its response.
4. Key Points and Themes -- With every focus group, a series of repetitive issues, conclusions or closely related responses usually emerges. It is critical that these discussion threads or themes are recorded by the focus group note taker. Of course, in some instances, a key point might only be mentioned once but conveyed in such a manner that it deserves close attention. In either case, it is the note taker’s responsibility to record these important qualitative data points.
5. Follow-Up Questions -- Since the focus group moderator’s attention is usually taken up with directing the discussion, he or she may miss vital opportunities for follow-up. After establishing a non-disruptive method of communication beforehand, the note taker should bring these opportunities to the attention of the moderator.
6.  Big Ideas -- Occasionally the note taker comes across a new concept that proves helpful in later analysis. While maintaining a level of objective observation is essential for the focus group note taker, these hunches or thoughts should not be dismissed. Instead, recording them increases the likelihood they will be remembered during the analysis phase.

To learn more about focus group note taker best practices, click on the button below and schedule a consultation with one of the experts at Focus Pointe Global.

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3 Key Characteristics Of A Focus Group Note Taker

If you’ve been following the FPG blog, then you know that objectivity, efficiency and charisma are the primary traits of a good focus group moderator. Now we’d like to turn your attention to the characteristics that make up another critical member of your marketing research team: the note taker.

While most, if not all, focus group sessions are recorded with some sort of audio/visual equipment, when it comes to capturing the subtle vocal hints, gestural cues and behavioral nuances of your focus group respondents, even the most state-of-the-art technology is incapable of replacing an attentive human note taker.

The note taker’s observations serve both as a supplementary documentation of your focus group discussion as well as a backup record in the event that one or more of your recording systems fail. For this reason, it is essential that your note taker possess not only a keen eye for detail, but also the ability to translate that detail to the page with clarity and consistency. Each note should be documented with the expectation that it could very well be of vital importance days or weeks later when memories of the focus group session have faded.

In addition to these three key characteristics, a good note taker should have the foresight and planning capabilities necessary to coordinate with the focus group moderator before each session, asking in-depth questions like: Is the moderator expecting near verbatim notes? What kind of information is the client looking to capture? How should the note taker communicate with the moderator during the session?

 For more information on how a good note taker helps you gather the most detailed qualitative research data and impacts the success of your marketing research projects, stay tuned to the FPG blog or click on the button below to schedule a consultation with one of the experts at Focus Pointe Global.

How To Avoid Focus Group Bias: Moderator Neutrality

This week on the Focus Pointe Global blog, we’re taking a look at ways to avoid focus group bias and gather the most objective results possible.

In our last post, we addressed the importance of avoiding leading questions in your focus groups and qualitative marketing research projects. Asking open-ended questions that don’t betray any preference or suggest a desired response helps to reduce the possibility of bias significantly.

The overall behavior and demeanor of the person asking the questions is equally important to ensuring the most unbiased responses possible. That’s why it’s essential that your focus group moderator should remain neutral and objective.

Since the focus group moderator is responsible for collecting the data that your marketing research project generates, he or she has a major impact on the quality of that data.

There are a number of factors that can affect focus group participant responses. If not properly managed, the moderator’s facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, manner of dress and style of language may bias respondent behavior and significantly impact the results of a focus group. Similarly, the moderator’s age, race, gender and social status may influence the responses generated.

Of course, predicting the pre-existing biases of your focus group participants and controlling every possible response factor is all but impossible. However, it’s important to focus on the influences that you CAN control in order to reduce bias as much as possible. With that in mind, focus group moderators should dress in neutral tones and styles, maintain a calm and even tone and, most importantly, be careful not to betray any personal opinions through their speech, facial expressions or body language.

For more advice on how to maintain moderator neutrality, click on the button below and schedule a consultation with one of the experts at Focus Pointe Global.

Be sure to check back later in the week when we will continue our investigation into avoiding focus group bias. If you’d like this and all future Focus Pointe Global blog posts sent directly to your inbox, simply enter your email address in the field to the right to subscribe.