Focus Groups

22 Pages 5470 Words

Can the rhetoric of experimentation be used to improve the practice of focus groups?

Professors’ instructions—Talk about external and internal validity, the threats and three ways of dealing with them. (Experimental Control, Pre Test Post Test, Randomization matching & combinations of them.
What are the shortcomings in doing a focus group? What are the problems?
Give ideas for improving focus groups.
Briefly write your claim – how you will support/defend it?
Conclusion—Paragraph –Tell if claim has been carried or not and why.
You should have a support section which identifies support of your claim.

My notes
Tell what is good and bad about focus groups (from book or experience doing the Goodwill Survey)
Email and bring a copy Wednesday--




Claim-- The rhetoric of experimentation can be used to improve the practice of focus groups.

The threats to internal and external validity provide distinct problems in the focus group setting. By utilizing the rhetoric of experimentation the practice of focus groups can be improved.




Benefits of the focus groups:
· Ability to produce concentrated amounts of data on precisely the topic of interest.
· Allows respondents to express detailed feelings, opinions and attitudes.
· Discover hidden feelings and motives.
· Focus Groups are economical.
· Focus Groups can help guide marketers in providing better goods and services.
· Learn what the consumers "out there" really think.
· Offers the client immediate contact with current and prospective customers.
· Participants give immediate reactions.
· It is possible to use visual or audio props in a Focus Group study.
· It is possible to ask "What if..." type questions.

Drawbacks of focus groups:
· Limited number of questions: Only a limited number of questions can be covered, approximately ten per hour.
· Dominant individual - An outspoken person can often dominate a group intervi...