There are lots of web resources about focus groups (e.g. http://www.focusgrouptips.com/ for one). They talk about the types of questions, the order in which the questions may be asked and also give tips for moderating a group.
I expect that there will be limited response to your question here (but happy to be proved wrong). Why? Many of the readers would prefer to watch users work with a product or interact in their ordinary environment (behavioral research), rather than get their verbal responses in a group (attitudinal research). In a group setting you often find participants expressing a view they don't necessarily follow, in order to please the moderator, or because of presumed peer pressure. One noisy (assertive, high verbal) participant can drown out the views of several quieter (less verbal, turn-taking) ones, whether just by talking over them. There are cultural aspects of "interrupting" vs "turn-taking" that may be unrelated to politeness, and may confound your abilities as a moderator. In a group about diet and activity levels, I might tell you I had a good (balanced, low fat) breakfast this morning, because it will put me in a positive light (to you, to the other participants, and to myself), or that I joined the gym and have been there 3-4x/week since Jan 1, because that was my New Year's resolution, and I'd prefer not to see myself as breaking resolutions before the first quarter of the year is up. (All examples purely imaginary.) Now get people to keep a food diary or photograph their snacks and meals, and you may find out more about how many calories they're eating (portion size, plus food selection). Or follow them around 3-4 random occasions over a week or two, and see what they really eat. Expensive but more likely to be representative (accurate). If you are interested in attitudes, then a focus group could be the right tool. If you're interested in avoiding most of the disadvantages of focus groups, but having a group event where you listen to users and customers, then consider a technique that is less familiar to users and more provocative of other kinds of expressive abilities. I like to use Innovation Games, and will teach a (90-min) course at CHI2010 (Atlanta - April), and a full day tutorial at UPA 2010 (Munich -May) about this topic. Or buy Luke's book and do it yourself (http://www.innovationgames.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48961 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help