when conducting focus groups,

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The moderator knows the true goals of the study, which are reflected in the discussion guide. The discussion guide is an approximate set and sequence of topics that should be discussed with the invited people in order to collect the most complete and adequate information for the study goals.

At the same time, the moderator should not strictly adhere to the wording and sequence of questions reflected in the guide. An experienced moderator should be flexible, improvise, make changes during the discussion, depending on what and in what language the respondents say. The point is that the discussion guide reflects the research needs and logic of the moderator, while the logic of respondents belonging to other social strata and professional communities may differ significantly from the ideas of both the customer and the moderator.

Also, the selection of respondents is important. This again brings el salvador cell phone number list us back to the stage of preparation for the study and the list of tasks. A focus group is always a discussion of a problem by a certain group of people (with certain socio-demographic characteristics). Taking these characteristics into account will allow us to correlate the research data with the general population, making the data suitable for use. When conducting focus groups, researchers do not have the opportunity to check during the interview itself whether the respondent fits the situation under study (whether he buys such a product, uses a certain service, has a certain lifestyle, etc.) as in quantitative surveys (when filtering questions are asked at the beginning of the interview). By incorrectly selecting an audience for a group interview, researchers can obtain data and draw conclusions that are unsuitable for practical use, or distort the real picture. Therefore, both parties to the project must approach the selection of respondents, as well as the preparation of an interview plan, very responsibly.

Focus groups, like individual in-depth interviews, are aimed at obtaining “deep” information. “Deep” information is understood as a more complete and detailed discussion and explanation of behavior than is available at the level of everyday understanding.

Most of everyday life takes place at the level of habits, automatisms, long-acquired stereotypes, so respondents have to make an effort to track their everyday behavior, including the purchase of food and everyday goods. It often turns out that the simpler and closer to the respondents the topic of discussion (margarine or toothpaste), the less intelligible their answers. The moderator should not take all statements on faith, he should try to penetrate the layer of superficial judgments (used to, like, affordable, etc.) to the real motives of behavior and those ideas that determined the development of the declared habits and preferences.