Characteristics of participants and management strategies
Conducting discussion groups requires a certain savoir faire, given the different personalities the moderator will have to deal with:

►►► The group that is in agreement: The members of the group agree with the majority. The danger here is that participants only give answers that agree with what others have said and therefore do not give their true opinions.  This is problematic as it can be difficult to know whether they are simply following suit or genuinely agree with has been said by other participants.
Strategy: From the start of the session encourage those participants who have shown that they are not in agreement and show respect for differences of opinion.

►►► The apathetic group: This is typified by a general lack of enthusiasm and participation.  This may be due to external factors.  For example, the participants feel obliged to participate, are suspicious about the methods being used, or are unqualified to take part in this type of discussion.

Apathy may also come from within the group.  The group may be too big rendering interactions invisible, or the group may be too organised and lacking in flexibility, contributing to a lack of spontaneity. Perhaps the moderator is too formal and intimidates the participants.  Maybe the moderator is too relaxed and appears unprofessional.  The pace may be too fast and does not give participants enough time to answer or too slow and participants get bored.
Strategy:Organise the group carefully and an in a realistic way to avoid external factors which can cause apathy within the group. Recruit a competent and experienced moderator who will be able to resolve many of the problems arising from within the group. Below are examples of other methods which can help to stimulate an apathetic group.

• If the topic does not seem interesting, you can generate enthusiasm by asking the group to treat the subject as a story and to create characters around the topic;
• If the subject seems to be too theoretical for the group or they do not feel concerned, you can use images of the subject/situation which will make it appear more real. If the subject seems to be intimidating or too personal you can encourage the participants to express themselves using projective techniques;
• In certain cases, the participation can be more dynamic if the moderator confronts the participants;
• From time to time tale a break. This allows the participants to move about and talk among themselves, often what is said will be discussed publicly later on. This also gives the moderator a chance to consult his/her team.

►►► The leader: This person starts the conversation, defends his/her position, tries to influence the others and wants to have the last word.
Strategy: Do not make eye contact with the dominant participant or turn away from them.  Use the names of the other participants.  If necessary, politely tell the dominant participant that although their ideas are interesting you would also like to hear what the other participants have to say.

►►► The counter leader: This person takes a position opposite to that of the leader and tries to influence the others.

►►► The associated leader: This person supports the opinions of the leader and looks for acknowledgement.

►►► The associated counter leader: This person supports the opinions of the counter leader and looks for acknowledgement.

►►► The outsider: This person sidetracks the conversation and does not respect the implicit rules of the group.  The will try to attract attention but are often put in their place by the rest of the group.

►►► The consensus seeker: This person seeks consensus, is measured, tries to negotiate between the leader and counter leader, gets the group thinking and takes it to a deeper level of reflection.

►►► The passive: This person may lack confidence, is afraid of being put down by the group or does not want to join in and prefers to be an observer. This person hesitates to speak and is generally shy and anxious in group situations.
Strategy: Use eye contact with this person to show that you are interested in what they have to say. Closely observe the passive participant to see when they are ready to speak.  If necessary ask a simple and neutral question to encourage a direct response.  If they become too uneasy, come back to them later on.

►►► Expert participants: This is a particular kind of domination.  Even if this person is not trying to dominate the group, the others will look to them and be reluctant to give their own opinions.
Strategy: Find out if the participant is a real expert or a pseudo expert; if they are a real expert, remind them that all comments are important and that other people have to contribute or you can ask them to wait until the others have spoken before they give their opinion. It can also be useful to say “I know Mawdo is probably already aware of this …”. If the person is a pseudo expert ask the other members of the group to comment on his/her answers. You may have to be firm and challenge them to reply as long as the group will tolerate this.

►►► The verbal participant: This person talks on and on without ever making a point, they are probably nervous or compulsive.
Strategy: Be more directive, use probing questions that require specific responses. Bring the participant back to the subject under discussion or politely interrupt them by reminding them that time is limited and you have a lot of subjects to cover. Be diplomatic.

►►► The sidetracked participant: This person make comments which have nothing to do with the topic being discussed and can sidetrack the rest of the group.  This may be because they do not know the topic, they are nervous or that they have not been listening.
Strategy: Try to ask the question again or paraphrase it. You can also come back to the question later.

►►► The participant who gives incomplete answers: This person gives partial responses or says things like “I don’t know.” Their attitude is usually due to a lack of confidence or nerves.
Strategy: Try to build rapport at the very start of the discussion so that this attitude does not continue throughout the session. Try to ask questions in different ways to obtain more specific information. Try probing techniques.

►►► The confused participant: This person seems to be confused and to not understand; they communicate this verbally and non-verbally.
Strategy: Acknowledge the fact by saying “you seem confused.” Try to reformulate the question or give an example. Try asking the question later on in the session.

►►► The overly-enthusiastic participant: This participant is enthusiastic and positive in all their responses.  He/she wants to be liked and wants to tell you what they think you want to hear.
Strategy: Remind the participant what was said in the introductory remarks; that you want to hear positive and negative opinions. Try playing the devil’s advocate “I’ve heard people say the exact opposite.” Or use the third person technique “How do you think people you know would react?”

►►► The negative participant: This person only gives negative responses; they may be using the interview to offload years of frustration and anger. They may have decided not to give you any information or positive reactions.
Strategy: Be careful and try not to be on the defensive. Try to disarm the participant by openly acknowledging their hostility “that seems to make you angry.  That’s good because I’m interested in knowing what you really think”. As in the previous example you can play the devil’s advocate or use the third person technique.

►►► The hostile participant: This participant personally attacks you verbally.
Strategy: Again you must be careful, try to disarm the participant by openly acknowledging the situation. Do not be defensive. Try a few moments of silence; it’s up to the participant to explain why they attacked you.

►►► The troublesome participant: This person upsets the discussion by saying, for example, that another participant’s ideas are wrong or that the moderator’s questions are stupid.
Strategy: Try to get the discussion back on track as soon as possible, ask the other participants to comment on what has just been said, although this can be risky if the comments upset or embarrassed someone.  Try presenting another point of view “that’s interesting but I’ve heard other people say….” In this way, you give the other participants a chance to take sides and continue the discussion.

►►► The questioning participant: This person continues to ask the facilitator to give their opinion.
Strategy: Use your lack of experience or expertise on the subject not to answer. If this is not the case you can say “Of course I have an opinion like everyone, but our aim today is to find out what you think”. If necessary offer to give your opinion after the session has finished. You can also try to find out why the participant is so interested in your opinion. Try to ask the entire group.

Conducting a focus group discussion
Below are key aspects which you must take into consideration when planning a focus group. Three types of people are necessary to conduct a focus group:

• Recruitersfind and invite the participants;
• Moderators conduct the discussion;
• Note takers list the topics under discussion, take notes of the participants’ reactions and make sure that the discussion is properly tape-recorded. They can also help in transcribing the discussion.

Where possible a focus group should be conducted by someone who has is familiar with the technique and who knows the target population and culture.  If skilled professionals are not available, it is imperative to organise several practice sessions where moderators can be trained to:

• Introduce the themes under discussion;
• Gain participants’ confidence;
• Ensure the participation of everyone in the group;
• Facilitate discussion between group members;
• Control the pace of the discussion;
• Be aware of non-verbal communication.

Note takers should be trained to do the following:

• Help the moderator to note down general information about the participants;
• Observe and note the group dynamics and other subtle reactions and interactions which may be useful during the analysis stage;
• Devise a system to identify all the participants and to attribute their remarks (e.g. number or letter) as well as making a seating plan.

Role of moderator
The person conducting the group plays a key role:

• They must manage the group’s dynamics and put the participants at ease within ten minutes;

• They must follow the interview guide and make sure that the discussions follow the identified themes;
• They must ask questions which reveal the personal experiences of the participants;

• They must avoid what is called group contamination. Below are some tips for avoiding this:

• Identify the consensus seeker as soon as possible and allow them to speak each time they want to;
• Allow everyone to speak but do not be afraid of asking the leader and counter leader to be quiet if they are monopolising the discussion;
• Get the shy and passive participants to contribute;
• Make use of the caricature effect (this consists in exaggerating the position of the participants to bring them to a more nuanced position) to reposition the group and to avoid extreme opinions. See example below:

Participants: “In the past we respected our elders and children obeyed their parents, there were values which guided us.”
Moderator: “If I understand, you are saying that there were only good things about the past.”

• Use the STOP to give the group time to cool off.  Example:

Participants: The discussion is about polygamy. Certain participants accuse another of not being a real man because he is only talking about the negative aspects of it.
Moderator: Use the STOP. Make a short summary of what has been said and restart the debate with a new question reminding the participants to be calm and to respect different points of view.

Location
The choice of location should be somewhere private and where the participants feel comfortable.

• Choose somewhere where it is easy to hear everyone speak;
• Choose somewhere comfortable;
• Choose somewhere neutral;
• Choose somewhere easy to get to.

Time needed for a focus group
In general, a focus group lasts between an hour and two hours. An hour and a half is considered to be ideal, longer than this and participants can start to feel tired.  The length will depend on the outcome of the discussion and how interested the participants are in the subject.  It is advisable to prepare for one hour but tell your participants that the session may be a little longer.

A short debriefing (15 minutes) involving all participants should immediately follow each session.  Then, a full report is given to the whole research team.  This step could bring the total time up to two hours.  In total you will need from between two and four hours to conduct a focus group discussion.

Starting a focus group session
Welcome the participants, thank them for coming and introduce the research team.  If you are working with an interpreter, make sure that the moderator’s welcome is translated directly to the participants.  This gives them the feeling of being involved in the session from the start.

• Explain the team’s work.  Give an overview of the project but without revealing the exact nature of the questions;
• Explain the role of the different people in the team;
• Explain why the participants were chosen.  Underline the importance of their contribution to the study and the community;
• Make sure that the participants have understood that all their contributions will remain confidential;
• If you are using a tape recorder, explain that it is only to have an accurate record of what was said;
• Explain how the focus group will work and the basic rules:
• A focus group centres on certain questions;
• A session lasts about an hour rand a half;
• Because it is necessary to have interpretation or a tape recording (if it is the case), it is important that only one person speaks at a time;
• Sometimes it may be necessary for the observer or the note taker to check a point with the moderator(s), while this is happening participants are asked to be patient.
• Try to keep the conversation in the group and avoid side conversations which can upset the group:

“We are interested in hearing everyone’s point of view. Everything you have to say is important to us. Try to let everyone in the group have their say. Because we have a lot to talk about in an hour sometimes we will have to move on to the next question before we have completely finished the subject being discussed. Vague comments don’t give us useful information so we may ask you to clarify your point. For example, if you say “I agree” you will be asked to explain why. If you say “it’s difficult” you will be asked to say what is difficult.”

• Ask the group to introduce themselves;
• Ask if here are any questions;
• Start the session with a question that puts the participants at ease.  It may be something that shows that the participants have something in common and that they can speak openly.  It may be a very simple question that is easy to answer and that will help to create a relaxed atmosphere in the group.

During the interview
The moderator should act and observe:

• Listen to the discussions;
• Avoid asking personal questions;
• Take advantage of pauses in the discussion, wait a few moments to see if someone will continue speaking, if not ask “does anyone have anything else to add?”;
• Use closed questions if you want short precise answers;
• Use probing questions after open questions to see how the participants will respond;
• Avoid loaded questions or those which give too much information and that lead the participants to believe that their response is correct/incorrect;
• If a participant makes an observation based on a myth or misconception ask “can you explain that?”;
• Don not let participants interrupt each other or let two people speak at the same time;
• Make sure everyone in the group contributes;
• Favour those participants who have not yet contributed to the discussion.

Observation means keeping your distance from what is happening.  To do this you must:

• Observe the non-verbal communication of the participants;
• Analyse the group dynamics;
• Find ways to avoid group contamination (get everyone to contribute). Keep the discussion real and not ideal (caricature effect);
• Use strategies (the STOP) to allow participants to cool off and continue in a more rational way.

The moderator should be present but not join in discussions.

• Be warm and attentive and listen to everyone without exception;
• Animate the discussion without taking a position;
• Never give your personal point of view and remain neutral at all times;
• Answer all questions concerning the content of the discussion;
• Avoid showing that you agree or disagree with the participants through non-verbal communication;
• Avoid being rigid and authoritative;
• Remain flexible but make sure you achieve your objectives;
• Make sure the participants have a positive and rewarding experience!

At the end of a focus group session
Thank the participants and where possible offer some refreshments.  If you have to conduct several focus groups, make sure you leave 30 minutes between each session.  This will allow the interviewer and the note taker to get to together immediately after the session to check that all important observations were properly recorded.  It also provides the opportunity to talk about any problems and make any necessary modifications for the next session.