Q. I keep hearing about On-Line Focus Groups. What do you think about them?

A. I think certain types of qualitative information can be gathered on line, but On-Line Focus Groups seem like a misnomer to me — as do Telephone Focus Groups, which have also had some popularity.

One of the major reasons to do Focus Group Discussions is so that the researchers and clients can observe the reactions and behaviors of their customers immediately and with minimal self-editing. You not only hear but see their reactions to new products. You not only hear but see how long it takes them to understand a concept. You not only hear their responses, but you see their body language and facial expressions.

These advantages are completely lost in On-Line Focus Groups, which are basically chat rooms set up for a particular time and on a particular subject, with qualified respondents invited to participate.

That said, I do think that some of the by-appointment “chat” set-ups on line can be used to gather useful information. They can be particularly useful in situations where respondents cannot be gathered in one place (and one-on-one personal interviews are not feasible). This type of methodology is most useful when the desired result is more factual/rational than emotional, since there will be no body language, inflection, unedited noises, nodding, head-shaking, etc. to analyze.

Do you have a comment or a research-related question? Forward it to me for future FAQs!