Focus groups – dead or alive? Discuss.

(Picture by Capt Kodak) Following the bombshell that Sir Ralan Sugar thinks market research is valuable (see below) comes the revelation in this month’s Management Today that “focus groups” were first used in the second world war by the US military to test their propaganda films.

Focus groups have had a rather mixed reputation ever since. Love them or hate them, they have certainly become commonplace as an activity, but they have never lost that whiff of control and manipulation.

So, is it time to ditch them or time to re-instate them? The issue is being debated at the upcoming and highly recommended AQR/QRCA conference, Bridges to Excellence, Barcelona, May 7 – 9, 2008.

Over recent years, focus groups have come in for regular and pointed criticism. A good summary of everything that is “wrong” with them is here. The author, Philip Hodgson, says: “The big mistake is in believing that what the mind thinks, the voice speaks. It is time to start embracing methods that can deliver stronger predictive value.”

But who in their right mind thinks that what people say in groups (or at any other time) matches or predicts their behaviour? It is interesting that most of the criticism of focus groups comes from those who have another methodology to sell.

Of course focus groups as a means to evaluate something is flawed – and always have been. But this completely misses the point. As a way of exploring and understanding things, they are very useful. Because inside every focus group there is a potentially valuable conversation. The problem with “focus groups” is the focus, not the group.

To be honest, we hate the term “focus groups”. We do “unfocused groups”, or “group discussions” as we quaintly persist in calling them. Part of the problem is that focus groups as a brand have become bigger than the qualitative research process that they should be seen as being part of.

There were 9,689 results from a search of “focus groups” on Flickr. I think there were three kinds of things in the pictures.

Manipulation apparatus: most significantly, the one-way mirror; also things such as tick-box questionnaires ...

Facilitating apparatus: things like, chairs, flip charts, pens ...

Generative apparatus: people and their ideas, honest conversation, sitting in a circle, smiling, listening, being non-judgemental ...

What if we did focus groups using far less control and manipulation? There has been some interesting work on this topic, such as Francis Yelland and Caryl Varty's 1997 MRS Conference paper on unmoderated groups.

And such as the development of Open Space facilitation by Harrison Owen and others in the 1980s.

Most commercial group discussions are a balance between what matters to the participants and what matters to the paymasters. Perhaps that balance has slipped over the years.

We shall return to this theme. Don’t go away.

Comments

[David]

Hi Kevin

See if this adds anything:

http://h2partners.squarespace.com/articles/the-burden-of-subjectivity.html

[Simon]

Hi Kevin

For me, focus groups (or whatever you choose to call them) will continue to play a vital role in the research toolbox. But as you point out, the methodology is flawed, which is why it is absolutely vital to have not only talented moderators but talented interpreters on the project. Without these, findings are at best dubious, and at worst unuseable

Keep up the great work here
Simon

PS Do you really think surralan would listen to focus groups, or tell them to "bleedin well shut up" if they said something that didn't conform to his pre-existing opinion?/

[Dominic]

Surralan does show signs of 'marketing' with his trademark gesture and catch phrase; a classic advertising mnemonic. Maybe someone in his team is listening to focus groups . . .

[Kevin]

Simon, thanks for this comment and for your encouragement. We agree, talent is required to run (and interpret) qual research properly. It looks deceptively easy, just sit around and chat, but lots going on beneath the surface.

But as Dominic has commented, we doubt Sir R would have much time for such niceties!

Will check your blog soon
Kevin