Question & Answer: 2. Describe both online and traditional focus groups, explaining the advantages and…..

The goal of focus group research is to learn and understand what people have to say and why. The emphasis is on getting people to talk at length and in detail about the subject at hand. The intent is to find out how they feel about a product, concept, idea, or organization; how it fits in their lives; and their emotional involvement with it.

Online focus groups utilize the power of internet to do the focus group studies. Advantages are lack of geographic barriers, lower costs (about half as much), faster turnaround time, and intangibles such as increased openness on the part of respondents when they do not have an interviewer staring them in the face. Yet, despite such demonstrable benefits there are other researchers who maintain that without direct, person-to-person interaction, focus group research will always come up short.

Traditional focus groups always include “natural talkers,” who dominate the discussion, despite a good moderator’s attempt to equalize participant contributions. Other participants will be less comfortable voicing opinions in a group; they may express themselves more freely when not face to face with their peers. The online focus group has a built-in leveling effect, in the sense that shy participants can express themselves as freely as more outgoing participants.

During the traditional focus group, the client observes the discussion from behind a one-way glass; communication with the moderator is impossible without interfering with the discussion. An online focus group, though, offers a remarkable opportunity for two-way interaction between the moderator and the client. …Rather than sneaking into the room with a note scribbled on a piece of paper, the client can address the moderator directly, clearly, and efficiently, without interrupting the group dynamic.