Role of the Facilitator
The primary role is to act as the host and to ask questions.
Think TV chat show host but with structure and intelligence.
They will be warm, welcoming, will ask questions and draw out answers.
An informal reminder of the length of the session and general encouragement to be relaxed, help themselves to refreshments, note location of toilets, etc is also useful before the session commences. Remember to thank attendees for simply turning up as these sessions cannot succeed without them.
The facilitator should introduce themselves at the commencement of the formal part of the session along with anyone present (normally the note taker/time keeper). They should reiterate the purpose of the focus group and remind participants of the intended use of the material, covering issues such as anonymity of contributions and other ethical requirements. Ideally there will be a standard statement that you can read out to cover the formal issues in the form of an explanatory note.
Role of the Record Keeper
The primary role of the record keeper is to record key information.
The secondary role of the record keeper is to remind the facilitator of the need to move on, if appropriate, and to lend support to the facilitator if required in managing the group discussion.
Recording and Note Taking
Even if the session is being recorded it is helpful if the record keeper also keeps a set of notes. These notes should include the key responses to questions and a record of the time they were made. This greatly helps transcription and allows key points to be pulled out of the data before a full transcription is available. The notes should always be checked against the recording for accuracy; it is easy to mishear, misremember or misrepresent what somebody actually said.
Time Keeping
The start of the formal session should be noted. This makes it much easier to locate key comments. For example start time noted as 12:10 and at 12:40 somebody makes a key observation then we know that this comment can be found 30 minutes from the start of the recording. A stop watch is not necessary but noting the time of any key comments is most helpful. Sometimes key comments can only be identified with hindsight but sometimes something is said that clearly identifies itself as key. Another useful option is to note the time that each new group of questions begins. The questions may be divided into sections and so it is easy (and useful) to note the time that these sections are discussed.
Managing the Session
There may be sets of questions divided into groups but it is not necessary to attempt to ask every question. That may happen but in many instances certain questions will generate much more of a response and these responses must be captured. Some of the set questions are quite specific but the facilitator should use supplementary questions to draw out responses where appropriate. These should be open ended questions, for example:
What are other people's thoughts on this topic?
Has anyone else got an example of this?
Would anyone like to add to that?
Try to avoid Yes/No Questions Unless you have a follow question ready
Sometimes a Yes/No question can be useful (has anyone else had this problem?) but it might close down the discussion if the facilitator then does not have another open question that the group can move on to.
The facilitator can be helped at times like this by the record keeper who also needs to note appropriate points (maybe a lull or where a question has been fully covered) to gently remind the facilitator to move on to the next group of questions. This may not always be necessary - this is where a degree of judgement comes in.
Who do we want to hear from?
Everyone in the group! At some point....
Not everyone in the group will have something to say on every topic but the facilitator (assisted by the record keeper) needs to catch the eye of quieter members and ensure everyone has a chance to comment.
Encouraging comments - use if probes.
Could you say a bit more about that...?
How does that actually work in practice...?
Could you explain that just a little more...?
Using probing questions, eye contact, nods and other encouragement helps to draw out the information that we are seeking. Equally there may be times when the facilitator has to close down a particular discussion or being the focus back to the purpose of the focus group.
That's really interesting. How would you link that to your use of the systems at NTU?
It's interesting that you say that as it brings us nicely to the next set of questions...
There must be a final chance for participants to make any comments or ask any questions. The participants must be thanked! A big thank you!