Running effective focus groups for education market research
Online focus groups can give you incredible insights, but they're also one of the trickier education market research methods to get right. Luckily, over our 12 years working in the learning sector, we've learned how to run effective virtual focus groups that gain the richest insights for your research. Here's an overview of our best practices.
What are focus groups in education market research?
​Focus groups bring together 4-5 people for guided online discussions about your research topic. They're one of the best education market research methods for exploring the "why" behind people's opinions and you'll uncover insights and nuances that surveys and questionnaires miss.​
For busy senior leaders, we typically recommend interviews instead as these offer more flexibility around their packed schedules.
​
What are the main challenges in running focus groups?
This can be one of the more challenging parts of education marketing research. Here are just some of the ways we source participants.
​
-
Recruitment. Finding the right people can be tricky, especially when you need specific types of education professionals. You can read our detailed article about how to recruit education market research participants for more guidance.
-
No-shows. This happens more often than you'd like, particularly with busy teachers and school leaders who get called into last-minute meetings.
-
Scheduling. While online sessions remove travel time and make it easier to fit research into busy schedules, coordinating times across multiple participants still takes careful planning around term times, class timetables and exam periods.
-
Group dynamics. Things like clashing personalities or participants who don't gel can make or break your focus group.
-
Groupthink. Sometimes, participants agree with each other rather than sharing their honest opinions due to social pressure and norms.
-
Individual personalities. When you've got both chatty and reserved participants in the same group, managing the different personalities can be a challenge.
-
Moderator experience. How experienced the facilitator is directly impacts the quality of insights you'll gather from each session.
Best ways to plan a focus group
Recruit the right participants and encourage them to take part
Getting the right people in the room starts with being crystal clear about who you need. Once you've identified your ideal participants, you'll need to convince them to give up their valuable time. Clear communication about the session's purpose, appropriate incentives and flexible scheduling all help boost your response rates.
Our guide on 8 ways to encourage participants to take part in education market research covers this in more detail.​
​​
Pick the right time
Timing affects everything from attendance rates to the quality of discussion you'll get. Tuesday through Thursday evenings work better than Mondays or Fridays for most education professionals. Running sessions online means participants don't need travel time, making it easier to fit research into their schedules. You'll still need to consider the academic calendar though—if possible, avoid exam periods and the peak summer holiday weeks.​​
​​​
Develop the right materials
Your discussion guide shapes the entire conversation, so you'll need to spend time getting it right. Structure your core discussion topics from general to specific and avoid any bias in how you word questions. If you plan to use visuals or stimulus materials, make sure these are well designed and easy to share on screen. Putting these materials together is a key part of phases 1 and 2 of our research projects. You can read more about the phases of an education market research project here.​
​​
Set up the online environment properly
Choose a reliable platform that participants will find familiar and easy to use. Test your technology thoroughly before the session, including your microphone, camera, screen sharing capability and recording setup. Make sure you have a quiet space with good lighting and a neutral background. Have backup plans ready in case of technical issues.
​
Have everything ready and tested beforehand
Check your recording equipment and settings—you don't want to lose great insights because you forgot to hit record or your storage filled up halfway through. Prepare any materials you'll share on screen, making sure slides or visuals are easy to read and won't slow down your internet connection. Have name labels visible on screen and consider using breakout rooms if you've planned smaller discussion activities.​
​​​
Tips for running focus groups
Opening the session effectively
Create a welcoming environment from the moment participants join. Begin with a structured opening that includes clear introductions of yourself, any assistants and the purpose of the research. As part of the housekeeping at the start, be sure to establish ground rules that emphasise respect, confidentiality and equal participation.
Set clear expectations by explaining that there are no right or wrong answers, all opinions are valued and participants should feel free to disagree respectfully with each other. Ice-breaker questions that are fun and easy can often help warm up participants and allow everyone to contribute early in the session.
Balance participation strategically
Focus on questions that begin with "how," "why," or "what" to stimulate discussion. Avoid leading questions that suggest preferred answers or reflect your own assumptions about the topic.
When responses are unclear, use probing techniques like "Can you say more about that?" or "Help me understand what you mean by...". These approaches encourage elaboration without making participants feel interrogated.
​
Ask open-ended questions
You'll also benefit from a full presentation at the end of the project. We'll present the findings to your team before answering any questions and discussing the implications. You'll also receive all raw data, including survey results and anonymised transcripts. This ensures you can dig deeper into specific areas later if needed.
​
Keep conversations on topic
Redirect conversations that stray off-topic by saying "These are important points. However, we need to bring the discussion back to..." This acknowledges their contributions while steering things back to your research objectives.
Record participants' actual words as much as possible rather than paraphrasing. This shows that each person's ideas are unique and valued, plus it gives you richer material to work with during analysis.
​
Manage individual participants
Some people naturally speak more than others, and that's fine to a point. Thank dominant participants for their enthusiasm but gently remind them that you need to hear from the whole group. You might say something like "That's a great point. Let's see what others think about this too".
​
Work with Insightful Research
Running effective focus groups takes practice and experience to get right. At Insightful Research, we've spent over 12 years perfecting our approach to education market research, including online focus groups that deliver genuine insights rather than surface-level responses. If you'd like expert help with your research project, get in touch for a friendly chat about how we can help you.
How can we help?
If you would like to ask our advice, book a
no-obligation 30 minute consultation with us to discuss your research requirements or to simply have a chat and find out more about what we do.
Alternatively, use the briefing form to start discussing a new project, give Jill Elston a call on +44 (0)7703 462179 or email us jill@insightfulresearch.co.uk