Make decisions about the logistics of the recruitment.

You need at least three to four people to serve as recruiters. The recruiters will serve on the logistics team and will perform the following tasks:

• create a "slot sheet"
  
• obtain lists of students
  
• draw the random sample
  
• screen participants, if necessary
  
• recruit students and explain participation
  
• draft letters to parents and permission forms
  
• manage permission forms
  
• make confirmation calls

See a checklist for recruiters.

This section outlines the decisions you need to make during the design stage so that the later work of the logistics team goes smoothly.

Determine how many students you will recruit.

In order to account for the possibility of student absences on the day of the focus groups, failure to return permission forms, or any other unforeseen factors, recruit a few more participants than you actually need. We suggest that you recruit 12 students if you want 8 participants.

Decide who has legal access to the complete database of students and is willing to draw the random sample.

School counselors or administrators have access to the complete database, so you may suggest that the recruiters collaborate with them on this step. As stated earlier, administrators in a district's central office also typically have access to student databases and may be willing to draw samples based on the criteria you give them. This approach worked particularly well in Fayette County, where administrators in the Office of Research and Evaluation drew multiple random samples for groups in five schools.

See complete instructions for drawing the sample.

Determine how much information the database will provide. Decide if students will need to be asked some questions to determine if they fit the research profile.

School databases generally provide such information as grade, gender, race/ethnic background, socioeconomic status, and average academic performance. If you need additional information about potential participants - such as whether or not students have parents employed by the school system or how students characterize their social "group" - your work team needs to develop a list of questions to ask potential student participants. This list of questions is called a "screener."

Decide who will screen students, if necessary.

If your work team decides it needs to screen student participants for information beyond the categories the school database provides, select one of the recruiters to carry out the work of developing and using the screener. This person will decide if s/he wants to collect the additional information in personal interviews, over the phone, or through written materials.

Figure out a way to explain the focus group process to potential student participants.

Because most students (and their parents) are unfamiliar with focus groups, we advise work team members to take some time to explain the process to students personally. You should support this personal explanation with written information that is sent home to the parents of recruited students. Through such personal contact with the students whose names are included in the sample, it will be possible for you to discover in advance if a student is absolutely opposed to participating, has a scheduling conflict, or cannot miss class on that particular day. Teachers, the school principal, the counselor, or anyone else involved in the research effort can be responsible for explaining to the randomly selected students what will be expected of them as participants and how they have been chosen.

In Jessamine County, elementary and middle school counselors and high school principals pulled students out of class to explain the focus group process to them and to answer their questions. Members of the work team at one Fayette County high school held a "pre-focus group get-together" for the recruited participants and student facilitators in order to warm them up to the process. This seemed to be particularly beneficial for the 9th grade students.

The ideal way to inform students that they have been chosen to participate is one-on-one, to avoid prejudicing them in advance by exposing them to their fellow participants. This is time consuming, however, and may not be feasible unless the logistics team includes some active and willing volunteers (parents, business leaders, community members).

View a "briefing sheet" the Jessamine County work team developed for educators to use when talking with potential participants.

Draft letters and permission forms for parents.

Because you are going to record the sessions, it's imperative that you gain parental permission. View sample letters to parents and permission forms for students in elementary, middle, and high school.

Decide when you will draw the sample, explain participation, and send home permission forms.

We suggest that you allocate at least two weeks for your recruiters (or other logistics team members) to draw the sample, meet with students to explain participation, send home permission forms, and receive signed permission forms back from students.

Designate someone to manage the process of collecting signed permission forms.

Set a firm, early deadline for returning permission forms. If forms are slow to return, establish a way to make personal contact with parents or guardians. The recruiters may want to designate a contact person to call parents or guardians at home at least three days before the deadline to make sure that they received the form and will consent to their child’s participation. Some students may require more follow-up work than others.

The contact person may also use personal calls to clarify information or answer questions that parents have. It makes good sense to designate the same person to distribute and collect the permission forms. This way, students will know exactly who the contact person is.

Determine if confirmation letters or calls are necessary and, if so, who will do them.

In order to guarantee a full room of focus group participants, your work team may decide to send confirmation letters or make phone calls to students and/or their parents to make sure that they still intend to participate. This is especially important if you plan to conduct the focus groups after school hours or somewhere other than the school premises.

Next: Draft and revise interview questions.