The Fieldstone Alliance Nonprofit Guide to Conducting Successful Focus Groups

By Judith Sharken Simon and Amherst H Wilder Foundation

Practical and easy to use, Conducting Successful Focus Groups gives you the practical guidance to do focus groups using little more than staff or volunteer time and the cost of refreshments. In ten easy-to-follow steps, you'll learn how to plan and conduct focus groups and, most importantly, how to put the results into action:

1. Create a focused purpose statement
2. Set up a realistic timeline
3. Decide who and how many participants to invite
4. Generate questions that'll get the information you need
5. Write a focus group script
6. Choose a facilitator
7. Find a location that puts people at ease
8. Run the focus group
9. Put the results into action.

Each step is followed by a task statement that sums up what you need to do before moving on. Examples, worksheets, answers to frequently asked questions, and an annotated bibliography make the job even easier.

People feel flattered when you ask for their opinions; in fact, most love to tell you what they think. With Conducting Successful Focus Groups, you'll have the tools to use focus groups effectively and make better-informed plans.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fieldstone Alliance
• Release date: Jan 15, 1999
• ISBN: 9781618588913

Book preview

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Copyright © 1999 by Fieldstone Alliance

Fieldstone Alliance is committed to strengthening the performance of the nonprofit sector. Through the synergy of its consulting, training, publishing, and research and demonstration projects, Fieldstone Alliance provides solutions to issues facing nonprofits, funders, and the communities they serve. Fieldstone Alliance was formerly Wilder Publishing and Wilder Consulting departments of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation. If you would like more information about Fieldstone Alliance and our services, please contact

Fieldstone Alliance

60 Plato Boulevard East, Suite 150

Saint Paul, MN 55107

800-274-6024

www.FieldstoneAlliance.org

Edited by Vincent Hyman

Manufactured in the United States of America

Third printing, February 2004

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Sharken Simon, Judith, date.

The Wilder nonprofit field guide to conducting successful focus groups / Judith Sharken Simon.

p. cm. -- (Wilder nonprofit field guide)

Includes bibliographical references.

9781618588913

1. Focused group interviewing. 2. Nonprofit organizations--Planning. I. Amherst H. Wilder Foundation. II. Title. III. Title: Conducting successful focus groups. IV. Series.

H61.28.S53 1999

658.4’012--dc21

99-17323

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

About the Author

Introduction - Why Your Nonprofit Should Use Focus Groups

Part I - What Is a Focus Group?

When Should You Use a Focus Group?

Part II - How to Conduct a Focus Group

Step 1: Define the Purpose

Step 2: Establish a Timeline

Step 3: Identify and Invite the Participants

Step 4: Generate the Questions to Be Asked

Step 5: Develop a Script

Step 6: Select a Facilitator

Step 7: Choose the Location

Step 8: Conduct the Focus Group

Step 9: Interpret and Report the Results

Step 10: Translate the Results into Action

Now, Go Get Results!

Appendix

Limited permission to copy

We have developed this publication to benefit nonprofit and community organizations. To enable this, we grant the purchaser of this work limited permission to reproduce worksheets, forms, charts, graphics, or brief excerpts from the book so long as the reproductions are for direct use by the individual or organization that purchased the book and not for use by others outside the organization. For example, an organization that purchase the book to help its staff or board make plans relevant to the topic of this book may make copies of material from the book to distribute to others in the organization as they plan. Some of the worksheets in this book may be available for download from the publisher’s web site. The same conditions expressed here apply to the use of downloadable worksheets.

Limits

The worksheets may NOT be reproduced for training outside the organization that purchased the book. For example, a consultant may not purchase one copy of this work and then use the worksheets with multiple organizations. In this case, the organization that the consultant is working with should purchase a copy of the book. Nor may an umbrella organization purchase a single copy of the book and then make copies of key worksheets for every member organization under its umbrella.

For permission to make multiple copies outside of the permission granted here—for example, for training, for use in a compilation of materials, for public presentation, or to otherwise distribute portions of the book to organizations and individuals that did not purchase the book—please visit the publisher’s web site, www.FieldstoneAlliance.org/permissions.

Aside from the limited permission granted here, all other rights not expressly granted here are reserved.

About the Author

JUDITH SHARKEN SIMON is an organization consultant who has worked with nonprofits for over fifteen years. She has led numerous data-gathering efforts involving focus groups, interviews, and surveys. In her consulting role, Judy assists clients with nonprofit organization development, including life stage transitions, strategic planning, and board development. Judy has a master’s degree in organization development from the University of Minnesota and is the author of The Five Life Stages of Nonprofit Organization: Where You Are, Where You’re Going, and What to Expect When You Get There (2001). Judy has worked extensively with the Saint Paul and Minneapolis area Southeast Asian communities. She developed and coordinated the Southeast Asian Leadership Program and has served as a consultant, supervisor, and instructor for the Bicultural Training Partnership. Judy has also been a senior consultant with Community Services Group of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, a project manager for a county government human services department, a mentorship coordinator in human resource development, and a public