9
Adapting Focus Groups to Audiences and Environments
Much of what we know about focus groups is based on white, middle-class, adult American consumers. But this research procedure works regardless of level of race, socioeconomic class, age, or education, as long as the researcher is respectful of the limitations of focus groups. International researchers have taken focus groups to Costa Rica, Morocco, Thailand, India, and a host of other countries with positive experiences. Others have successfully conducted focus groups with migrant workers, inner-city residents, teenagers, people who suffer from psychoses, people with developmental disabilities, and American Indians-people who often don't get asked for their input or get listened to.
Throughout all of these groups, there is a hidden challenge. Unwittingly, the focus group researcher may ask irrelevant questions-those that reflect the researcher's experiences and point of view but seem inappropriate, irrelevant, or impractical to the participants. This phenomenon is more likely to occur in the public and nonprofit sectors where cross-cultural studies are conducted.
One area where we have observed variation is in how people differ in their sense of control. Some individuals feel they have control over their environment and that other individuals can and ought to make needed changes. Others feel that someone has control, but they personally do not. Still others feel that no one has control or that one should not tamper with fate but rather accept what comes your way. If you are examining a public program or the consequence of a policy decision, each group might offer a different perspective based on its philosophical orientation. In fact, we would argue that the participants might not even understand the question because it is so different from their worldview. Questions need to be constructed carefully and the study introduced in a manner appropriate to the environment.
Four types of special audiences deserve attention. One category is internal focus groups. A second category is focus groups with young people. A third special audience is focus groups within ethnically or racially homogeneous audiences. And the fourth category consists of groups sponsored by international organizations.