Focus Group Planning Template
It takes time to plan successful focus groups and creating a written plan will help ensure your success. This includes intentional thought around the information you hope to gather, the individuals who will be invited to participate, the timeline and roles, schedule, locations, communications and incentives. It is also helpful to think about the participant experience during the focus group. This may include, but is not limited to, the interview set up, the forms participants need to complete, the structure of the interview questions, and resources to support participants.
Population
Choosing the group(s) that will be invited to participate in a focus group is one of the first steps. This decision will be guided by the goals of the research or assessment.
- Who will be invited to participate in the focus groups?
- What are the demographic backgrounds of the individuals who will be invited to participate?
- How will the individuals be grouped together?
- Which groups are being excluded and why?
Timeline and Roles
Developing a good team and timeline is critical to the success of a project. Here are some questions to consider:
- What is the end date for completing the entire project?
- When does each task need to be completed to meet the project end date?
- When will each task need to begin?
- How much time is each person able to commit?
- What are their strengths?
For each task in the table below, insert the name or initials of the person(s) who will be responsible for completing the task under the month that needs to be completed. Once the table is filled out, develop an intentional plan for group meetings. During the meetings, ask each group to report out on their progress.
| Task | July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discuss project with supervisor | ||||||||||||
| Group meeting | ||||||||||||
| Complete CITI training (if needed) | ||||||||||||
| Review available data | ||||||||||||
| Identify study team | ||||||||||||
| Design consent form | ||||||||||||
| Design demographic form, script, questions & marketing materials | ||||||||||||
| Determine incentives (if applicable) | ||||||||||||
| Select participants | ||||||||||||
| Submit IRB application (if applicable) | ||||||||||||
| Collect data | ||||||||||||
| Data cleaning | ||||||||||||
| Data analysis | ||||||||||||
| Report development | ||||||||||||
| Presentations | ||||||||||||
| Make change |
Moderator/Scribe Selection
The moderator and scribe lead the focus group session. They ensure that the participants understand the study, have time to ask questions, and agree to participate. They are also responsible for making sure everyone has an opportunity to share their thoughts, taking notes, summarizing the conversation, and de-briefing afterward to discuss the information shared, what went well, and what could be improved. Questions to consider include the following:
- Who is interested in serving as a moderator?
- Who is interested in serving as a scribe?
- Will they be comfortable in their roles?
- What experience and training do they have?
- Who will the participants feel most comfortable with?
- What do they need to be successful?
Focus Group Schedule and Locations
| Date | Time (up to 90 minutes) | Location | Maximum Number of Participants (8-10) | Facilitator | Scribe | Notes (e.g., food, incentives) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Incentives
Section K5 of the PASSHE Expenditures of Public Funds Guidelines, Standards, and Limits (2011-07) provides guidance on student gifts and awards. The maximum amount allowed for a gift card is $25.00. This and the questions below should be taken into consideration when choosing incentives:
- What incentive(s) will be provided?
- Will all participants receive an incentive? If not, what method will be used to determine who receives an incentive?
- How will incentives be distributed? Note that not all students can drop by a location to pick up their prize.
- When will the incentives be distributed? Once at the end of data collection or throughout the process.
- How will the participants sign off that they have received the incentive? This is required for budgeting purposes.
Focus Group Interview Set Up
To increase the chances of participation, use a private space that is centrally located and comfortable for participants. Visit the space in advance to plan the layout. Review the location for accessibility issues, navigation to and from the space, room temperature, technology, potential noise issues, food placement, document placement, and determine where the facilitator and scribe will be located. If conducting an online focus group, determine technology needs, troubleshooting strategies, and leadership roles. Reminder messages will help ensure participation.
Script
A written script helps with managing the focus group conversation. It should include a welcome and introduction of the individuals in the room and their roles. The study purpose, benefits, and potential risks should be fully explained and participants should be given the option to opt out without penalty. The study questions should be included in the script. The end of the script should include gratitude for the participants' times, information about next steps, and the process for receiving incentives (if applicable).
Focus Group Questions
The questions should be neutral and not assume the participant’s response or try to lead them in a particular direction. A leading question might look something like, "How wonderful was your experience at the movies?" Or the scale may be tilted like the following, "How was your experience at the movies? (Fantastic, great, wonderful, okay)" with the first three being positive, okay serving as the neutral option, and no options for negative responses. A more neutral question would be an open ended question, "Tell me about your experience at the movies" or "Please rate your movie experience. Very good, good, neutral, poor, very poor."
In terms of the flow of the conversation:
- Start with questions about the big picture and dive into the details later.
- Save the harder or more sensitive questions until after there’s been time to build a relationship with the participants.
- Have a few follow up questions ready in case participants are quiet or provide vague or short responses.
Consent Form
For research studies, WCU offers a consent form wizard as a resource.
For assessment projects, see the Sample Survey Agreement Form. This form can also be utilized to create a focus group agreement form.
Marketing
Marketing efforts may include, but are not limited to the following:
- A preliminary message to announce the assessment
- Flyers to distribute across campus (e.g., televisions, bulletin boards, platforms)
- Class announcements
- The assessment invitation message
- Four follow up messages
- Newsletter messages
- Social media posts
It is important to ensure survey links are shared with participants only in controlled environments (e.g., email, meetings, classes). Links that are posted to public spaces risk the possibility of bad actors submitting false responses.
Resources
It is a good idea to provide participants with a list of resources to support them throughout their participation and thereafter. This is particularly true if the assessment questions are sensitive in nature (e.g., drug use, mental health, harassment). To make this easy, provide the link to Ram Resources or use the table below as a starting point.
| For help with… | Program or Service | Contact Information |
|---|---|---|