Types of Written Reports
Focus group reports traditionally have been presented in a narrative style. Alternatives include the report memo, the top-line report, and the bulleted report. Let's review the key ingredients of each of these.
Narrative Report
The narrative report is recognized by its length and use of quotations. Typically, these reports are between fifteen and thirty pages long, but occasionally, a report might become lengthy, reaching close to one hundred pages. The danger of excessive length is that it limits readability, except for the most interested and ardent client.
Top-Line Report
The top-line report conveys the critical points in the most economical manner. These brief bulleted reports are prepared primarily with field notes and moderator memory and are presented back to the client within a day or two of the focus group. These reports are also called top-of-mind reports, which is actually more descriptive of the process. Top-line reports are oriented toward the particular decision or problem that gave rise to the focus group. As a result, this report won't contain information unless it is specifically relevant to the purpose of the study. The top-line report is usually an interim or preliminary report that is prepared quickly and provides immediate findings that are expanded on in the later narrative report, sometimes called the full report. Top-line reports vary in length but are usually several pages long.
BACKGROUND
Example of an Outline for a Written Report
1. Cover Page. The front cover often includes the title, names of people receiving or commissioning the report, the names of the researchers, and the date the report is submitted.
2. Summary. The brief, well-written executive summary describes why focus groups were conducted and lists major findings and recommendations. The summary is often limited to two pages and should be able to stand alone. Although this section is placed first in the written report, it is often the last part written.
3. Table of Contents. This section isn't needed if the report is short but does help readers navigate longer reports.
4. Purpose and Procedures. Describe the purpose of the study and include a brief description of the study. Remember your audience. Academics may want a detailed description of procedures, but most readers aren't interested in much beyond the number of groups, types of people included as participants, and where the groups were held. The questions are not included here but may be included in the appendix. Sometimes a more detailed discussion of procedures or methods is included in the appendix.
5. Results or Findings. Most often, results are organized around key questions, themes, or big ideas. The conventional style is to take the questions in sequence. The limitation is that this style begins with the least important information (the more valuable results usually occur later in the focus group). Also, information is often redundant because the same themes appear in several questions, There fore, consider organizing by themes and begin; with those points that are most beneficial to the reader.
6. Conclusions/Interpretations. This section is optional. This is the section in which the researchers present their conclusions or interpretations of the results. What do the findings mean? Interpretations can be tricky. If participants in the focus groups provide interpretations, then this information is considered a finding because the participants said it. But if the researcher provides the interpretation, then it belongs in this section. Keep your interpretations separate from the findings.
7. Recommendations. Recommendations are optional and not automatically included in focus group reports. The recommendations provide suggestions as to what might be done with the results. Sometimes this section is presented as "suggestions" or "ideas to consider" or other words that convey less formality.
8. Appendix. The appendix is optional. It includes additional materials that might be helpful to the reader. For example, you might include the questioning route and the screening questionnaire. Additional quotations may also be included. In some situations, the author might wish to include limitations and alternative interpretations.
The top-line report is sometimes confused with the executive summary because they are both short. The executive summary is derived from the narrative report analysis, is prepared at the conclusion of the narrative report, and seeks to highlight critical points. By contrast, the top-line report is prepared quickly without benefit of the careful analysis found in the narrative report, and the emphasis of top-line reports is quickness in reporting.
Top-line reports are standard in market research because sponsors want immediate results. Sponsors often view the groups from behind the one-way mirror and will make decisions based on their own impressions if the analyst doesn't quickly provide a report. In many cases in market research, the study is completed by a seasoned moderator and is very focused (e.g., which ad has greatest appeal?), which makes top-line reports straightforward. They are prepared with minimal time for reflection or analysis, so there is great danger of error for novice researchers. The top-line report exists for a particular function-providing rapid results to concerned clients.
Bulleted Report
The bulleted report is like an outline of the narrative report but with careful choice of phrases and words to clearly convey the concepts. The bulleted report is gaining popularity because of the speed with which it can be prepared and consumed.
Report Letter to Participants
Often participants in focus groups will ask if they can get a copy of the report or find out what happened based on their input. If no results are evident, there is a tendency for the participants to assume that the organization is nonresponsive. For example, in some communities of color and in some organizations, people are reluctant to participate in focus groups because they haven't seen results from past listening. They don't believe their input will make a difference because they haven't seen any evidence that the organization is willing to change.
Usually public and nonprofit organizations freely share focus group findings with participants. As one method of sharing, we encourage the sponsoring organization to write a report letter based on one of the reports described above. This report letter is sent to people who participated in the focus groups. It is one or two pages long and tells participants that "we heard you and this is what we plan to do based on what we heard." Often this report letter is sent as a cover letter for an executive summary or a narrative report. The information in the report letter can cover all audiences in the study or can be adapted for a particular audience, emphasizing items of concern for that particular type of group. For example, one letter might be written for parents, a different one for teachers, and yet a different one for students if these audiences raised different concerns in the study.
An effective strategy is to include four items in the report letter. First, thank participants for sharing their ideas and taking the time to participate. Second, include a very short summary of key findings- perhaps three or four bulleted points or a couple paragraphs. Third, tell what you are doing or what you plan to do to address the key findings. If for some reason you can't do anything about something, explain why. Finally, if it seems appropriate, invite participants to call and share their reactions to the report letter or ask for more information. Include a name and phone number. And again, consider attaching a longer version of the report-typically an executive summary or narrative report.