How can you develop a moderator guide for a focus group?

My 2 cents is that the moderator guide should be as short as possible, perhaps 5 topics on one page. These should align with the project objectives - what are we trying to learn. Resist the urge to write questions in advance, because this is not how real conversations work. Well, I hope not, otherwise life would be very odd Also, writing questions in advance plants the seed that these questions NEED to be asked, and that is a trap for both moderator and clients. Moderator cuts off conversations in order to ask THAT question...client only wants to hear the answer to THAT questions...and consequently hears nothing else Let the conversation flow. 6 people. 90 minutes. How many questions/responses can you expect in that time>

If possible, ask behavioral questions BEFORE attitude questions. Participants will be more candid about their behaviors if they are not primed beforehand to contextualize or evaluate them based on everybody's attitudes.

Try not to use 'why' all the time People should not feel that they have to justify their behaviour. They are not on trial Use the other W's - , who, what, where, when Example Why did you marry your wife? vs When did you know you were in love? Both are asking the same thing, but in different ways. One elicits a better response. That is the role of the question. Any question, Elicit a response

Ideally, a focus group should not feel like a focus group. They are moderated conversations around a particular theme. To make the conversations flow, it is helpful for moderators to have a very clear framework in mind. Rules of three tend to work pretty efficiently. For example, a conversation can have three chapters. Exposition = understanding the context of people’s lives Development = exploring unmet needs Resolution = defining the role of the product in its context I find it very helpful when everyone in the group enjoys the conversation: they build up on each other's ideas, feel comfortable disagreeing with each other, and just have a good time.

I wish we could put "ALLOW ENOUGH TIME" in bold. Every focus group wants to squeeze all the insights they can from their limited time and budget. Fair, BUT this often results in a bloated session where moderators need to rush participants through a hundred questions—and leave the real insights unspoken. Let them breathe and reflect. In real-life conversations, a strategic silence can pull the truth from someone. Focus groups work the same way.

Use a "red team." Designate a group of coworkers or trusted partners who are NOT allowed to see any part of the guide until the last step. Mix it up: some folks trained in research, some not. These fresh eyes will recognize issues that were too big or small to be noticed by the folks who have been in the weeds for weeks.

Develop a comprehensive moderator guide for a focus group by outlining objectives, creating a structured agenda, and defining key discussion topics. Include open-ended questions to encourage participant engagement and explore diverse perspectives. Ensure the guide allows flexibility for organic conversations. Incorporate probing questions to delve deeper into responses. Provide guidelines on managing group dynamics and time. Pilot test the guide to refine it, ensuring a smooth and effective facilitation process during the actual focus group session.

It is also crucial to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the moderator, and the guide should be adjusted accordingly for different moderators. Ensuring that the moderator fully understands the project objectives helps them know where to probe further, even if it's not explicitly listed in the guide. A recap session immediately after each interview is essential to ensure the moderator understands how to better lead the next session.

In 2018, I led a team of students to design a malaria-control-themed trivia application, and we had to conduct a focus group discussion as part of efforts to nail our UI/UX design. But although we had ideas from what we’d read online, we didn’t particularly know the right questions to ask, when to ask them, or how to frame them to get the best results. So, we thought it wise to conduct a pre-discussion survey. It was electronic; therefore, easy and cheap to scale. The form included both open-ended and closed-ended questions (but more of the former). Eventually, we evaluated the responses and used the result to guide the development of our discussion guide, including the interview questions, organisation, and interaction.

If you're using a 3rd-party moderator, make sure they have access to the guide before it's too late to edit. They may have wisdom to share, or weaknesses to work around. Once, when conducting groups of regional Native youth, our local Native moderator identified a gap in the cultural probes section that ended up yielding the day's richest takeaways.