Focus group research design and moderation

Design and conduct effective focus groups for qualitative insights. Planning: 1. Homogeneous groups: similar backgrounds to encourage discussion. 2. Group size: 6-10 participants for manageable discussion. 3. Number of groups: 3-5 per segment until saturation reached. 4. Recruitment: screening questionnaire, oversample by 25% for no-shows. Moderator guide: 1. Introduction: explain purpose, ground rules, confidentiality. 2. Warm-up questions: easy, general topics to build rapport. 3. Main questions: 2-3 key topics, use probes and follow-ups. 4. Closing: summary, final thoughts, next steps. Moderation techniques: 1. Encourage participation from quiet members without forcing. 2. Manage dominant participants diplomatically. 3. Use projective techniques: sentence completion, image sorting. 4. Record audio/video with permission for accurate transcription. Analysis: transcript verbatim, code inductively, look for consensus and divergent views, distinguish individual opinions from group-generated insights. Report themes with supporting quotes, note group dynamics effects.