Online Focus Groups

Online Qualitative Research

Internet communication technologies are now used for qualitative research as well as surveys.

Several methods are used:

Online text chat is a real-time event (synchronous) where a group of respondents meet in an online chat room with a moderator. Participants communicate by typing their responses to the moderator's questions. It is possible to show participants images, video and web sites and have them comment on these. The format is fast-paced, happens in real-time and is most often used for gathering top-of-mind responses to a topic.

Discussion boards (also called bulletin boards and discussion forums) are also text-based discussions happening on the internet. One key difference is that in a discussion board project the respondents do not all have to be online at the same time (asynchronous). These projects are often used to gather more in-depth responses over a longer period of time. Projects can range from a few days to weeks or even months, where a panel of individuals regularly logs in and posts their thoughts on a topic. It is possible to show participants images, video and live web sites as part of the stimuli for discussion.

Blogs are emerging as a new variant, where individuals keep an online diary using blog technology. These individual diaries are usually supplemented with some group interaction using another method, such as a discussion board.

Virtual video groups use variants of web-meeting technology to bring respondents together with audio and video components.

Benefits

• Reduced travel costs
• Faster turn-around time on some types of projects
• Same-day transcript or recordings are available
• High volume and density of information compared to traditional methods
• Access to global geography, including rural areas
• Ideal for low-incidence target groups, busy professionals and other who cannot easily attend a focus group facility
• Respects the respondent's schedule and can make it easier for people to participate in research
• Can provide for true anonymity and greater sharing among respondents

Should you consider online for your project?

Here are some of the questions we use to determine whether an online method may be suitable for a project:

• Does the target population have ready access to the internet? Are they comfortable online?
• Do we want input from people in multiple cities or regions? What about the travel budget?
• Do people need to be talking to each other at the same time (synchronous) or can the discussion occur over time?
• Do we want top-of-mind responses or more thoughtful in-depth responses?
• Do we want group interaction or individual reactions?
• Will this target group come to a central facility or will they be easier to reach online?
• Will we get a better response from people who can participate from the comfort of their own home or office on their own timetable?
• Do we need the physical presence of people to taste, touch, smell or assemble something? Or could this be done remotely? How important is the visual component?

How to find out more

We have researched this topic extensively and made presentations at professional conferences. If you are interested in learning more or would like to see a live demonstration, please contact us directly. We may be able to customize a presentation (either remote or in person) for your team.