January 2012

 The value of Focus Groups

What a positive message about Focus Groups to start off the working year.  We completely agree with the points made in this Guardian article about the use of focus groups in the voluntary sector. We work closely with this sector to ensure quality research and consultation that cares, understands the needs of the individual organisations and is cost effective. Read it here..

 2012 Plans

We're hatching plans for 2012 which includes more free stuff - downloads and guides.  We are also developing a more indepth blog so that we can share our knowledge and views on various aspects of research, including the use of design, behavioural economics and other trends and developments that we think will be of interest to a broader audience. 

Sign up for our email alerts to keep updated.

 November 2011

 Understanding our clients

We found this great short video on You Tube which provides a lovely illustration of the importance of keeping an open mind during a focus group, and of understanding your client.  There really are no right or wrong answers when running a group - the participants don't have to like everything you show them! Watch the Video

 August 2011

 Going European

August has been a very interesting month for us and involved undertaking a patient immersion study, interviewing patients in their homes. This was a European project and we travelled to Spain, Dublin, Poland and France spending 2+ hours with patients to really gain an understanding of their lives and illness. This type of research is fasinating and provides a real opportunity to get to see patients in their home environment, meet their families and understand their lifestyle in a way that interviewing in a 'venue' does not.

Despite language barriers (and the need for interpreters) the insight and knowledge gained by these in home interviews has been tremendous and we hope to continue to promote and use this style of depth interviewing.   Never underestimate the value in seeing people 'in situ' to really understand their lives.

 June 2011

 The Apprentice - Representing Research????

The return of the Apprentice and the return of what can only be described as rather ropey research techniques.  We tear our hair out everytime we see the candidates running a 'focus group'.  Going into the group enmasse (3 facilitators really?), telling the particpants what they think is their great idea and then ignoring the responses does not illustrate the skill and complexities that great focus group research can give you. 

Whatever happened to asking the participant what their ideas are, listening to their reponses, exploring thoughts and opinions and actually using these insights to help develop a successful campaign or product. 

And dogs and cats in focus groups?  Jury is out on that one - but a rather nice distraction and cute TV.

 May 2011

 Working towards a healthier Worcestershire

We worked with NHS Worcestershire to find out how people may be encouraged to take more exercise. We ran a few focus groups in the local area with residents who did not take regular exercise to find out more about their lifestyles and motivations. 

The groups provided some great insight into what may or may not motivate people to consider taking more exercise.  The results have helped to develop a campaign to 'Move More Worcestershire' which was launched this month.

March 2011

 Celebrating our 6th Birthday

This month we celebrated our 6th Birthday and spent some time reflecting on the last 6 years - over a drink of course!  A big thank you to all our clients and we look forward to more birthdays and to welcoming more clients to The Focus Group.

We are always thinking of ways to improve our service and develop new ideas and ways to gather information and insight from our research.  6 years have flown by, but we can't sit back and relax - in these economic times we need to ensure we continue to offer value for money and a research service that we are proud of.

 February 2011

Using focus groups to shape a new council website. 

Bournemouth Borough Council have been improving their website, using focus groups with the public to gain an insight into the changes and website needs of the local population.  Here at The Focus Group, we worked with the Council to run the focus groups and make sense of the great feedback we received. The groups participated in 'category sorting' exercises, discussions on how people use the website and feedback on some comparative website designs. We look forward to seeing the new website up and running in the near future.

 January 2011

The Power of Words

We are always thinking of ways to succinctly and creatively sum up our projects. We loved the 'Words for 2011' short You Tube video produced by Box of Crayons. This shows how powerful a few carefully chosen words can be in illustrating moods, views or desires. See for yourself by clicking the link here Words of 2011

Why not try and sum up your next meeting or project with a few words of your own?

 December 2010

NMC Consultation

Earlier this year we undertook a consultation for the NMC on Raising and Escalating concerns in the workplace. We ran a series of focus groups around the UK with registrants to better understand their issues and concerns and to ask them to comment on a draft guidance. This new guidance was officially launched in November 2010 and further details can be found here www.nmc-uk.org

We are delighted to see the work and feedback that we obtained put into action in such an important piece of guidance.

November 2010

New Name, New Website

We are very excited to launch our new website and also to rebrand and rename – to The Focus Group. It’s not a big change; we’ve just dropped the ‘uk’ from our name, less of a tongue twister.

New Focus Group Guide
As part of our re-launch we have also updated our Focus Group Guide - don’t forget to request a copy, it’s free! 

Newsletter Relaunch
We have also been working hard to re-launch our quarterly newsletter. Apologies to anyone who signed up this year and haven’t heard from us. We didn’t want to send out anything that we weren’t happy with and our aim is to completely revamp the newsletter to provide tips and advice on research and facilitation. Please sign up...