Focus Group Guide

What is a Focus Group?

A focus group is a tool to gather information. This is done through a discussion on a particular topic with a group of people (a group between 5-7 people works best). Focus groups are used to gather people’s opinions, experiences and ideas about a topic that one wants to focus on. These kinds of information are difficult to put into numbers but they are very good for audiovisual documenting.

A focus group is an informal method for collecting information. It works best when two people facilitate the discussion: one asks the questions and the other takes notes of the few most important ideas that are discussed. A Discussion Guide is prepared ahead of time to give the facilitators key questions to stimulate the discussion. First, a number of questions are asked to stimulate story telling; secondly, additional questions are asked to discuss the issues in depth.

Focus groups provide information that complements questionnaires. People who market products have used focus group discussions to better understand what people want, what they like, and how they respond to new ideas and products.

In this project we will use focus groups to draw out anecdotes and stories from villagers about how the telephone has brought improvements to their lives. We are interested in examples of how the phones brought about changes in the quality of life. The facilitators will select the most interesting stories, and we will videotape each individual telling their story once again.

DISCUSSION GUIDE

1. Questions to open the discussion:

• Ask each person in the focus group to mention three things that they like about their village, three things they don’t like, and three NEW things that you would like to have in the village.

2. Questions to deepen the discussion:

• How can telephones help maintain what you like about this village?
• How can telephones help get rid of the things you don’t like?
• How can telephones help obtain the things you wish for?
• How can telephones enrich your own life?

3. Questions to focus on an important event:

• Can you tell us about the most important phone call you have made or received?
• If we were to come back to this village in 1 year, what changes would we find because of the phone?
• If you meet someone from another village who has never used a phone, what would you tell her about the phone?

Review

At the end of the Focus Group and video interview, review how the discussion went. Ask yourselves: What worked and what did not? Do we have a better way of asking the questions? Can we revise the Discussion Guide to improve the next meeting?

During the group discussion, take notes on the most unique stories and ask one or two persons to repeat the story in front of the camera. Keep a list of the key ideas and, if the person forgets to mention those ideas, ask questions during the interview to remind them. Record as many different stories as possible.

Take video shots of some of the places or problems that are mentioned.

We are interested to document on video how the telephone helps a woman’s position in the household and in the village.

Possible questions to ask in the interview:

HOUSEHOLD

• How does your husband feel about your telephone business?
• Does the telephone get in the way of your normal household tasks?
• If you start making more money than your husband, will this be a problem?
• How does the telephone benefit your children?
• Do you have any worries about the telephone?
• How do you cater to some users who need more privacy?
• What day of the week is your busiest?

VILLAGE

• Do people in the village treat you differently now that you operate the phone?
• How does your Grameen Bank group share the benefits?

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