Conduct your focus groups.

At last you are ready to conduct the focus groups. If you have done your work well in these first two stages of the process, and if your facilitators follow a well-written guide, your focus groups should look something like this:

• Eight students sit comfortably around a table.

• The table holds refreshments, soft drinks, cards showing first names, a tape recorder, and table microphone.

• Two student facilitators sit at one end of the table. They welcome all the participants, make them feel at home, and encourage them to relax and speak out.

  The facilitators say, "This is not a test of your knowledge. We are going to be talking about things that are familiar to you. Every answer you give will be the right answer."

• The facilitators assure the participants that their names will not be shared outside the group or used in the research report. The facilitators ask participants to keep each others' ideas and identities confidential as well.

• The facilitators tell the group that there are other groups being conducted on this topic.

• The facilitators proceed through all of the interview questions. They may also invite participants to respond to artwork, make lists, or give their opinions in a number of ways that do not depend as much on talking.

• Participants find the questions interesting and enjoy having the close attention of the facilitators. At times the participants start talking back and forth with each other in a lively and funny way, as if the facilitators had disappeared from the room. The facilitators beam and encourage this kind of free-wheeling conversation, as long as it is on the topic.

• When the facilitators notice that one person is most likely to be the first to answer each question or that another person has a tendency to make long speeches, they gently make corrections.

  The facilitators say, "Some people in the room are quieter than others. Let's hear from some of you who haven't had a chance to get your ideas on the table." Or maybe they say, "Let's hear from everyone on this question. Chris, why don't you begin, and then we will go around the table."

• After 90 minutes, the facilitators turn off the tape recorder and thank everyone, and the focus group ends.

We hope your own groups go this smoothly – keep in mind, though, that this is a learning process. Good luck! We'll see you back in the analysis and reporting section.

Next: Analyze and Report