The Burke Institute presents
 

Moderator Training: Focus Groups and IDIs On-Site Training

This limited enrollment, intensive workshop is designed to train you to become a focus group moderator.

Course Description/Agenda

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

• How to communicate with your "clients" to understand the decisions they want to make and how to turn that information into a qualitative research study.
• The core skills used to design and moderate focus groups and how to apply those skills through a series of interactive workshops, including the opportunity to moderate a live focus group.
• How to ask questions that will elicit the best quality responses and go beyond the top of mind answers to search for the truth behind what people say and do.
• Tips and tricks on how to handle dominant participants and bring out the quiet and shy participants to make each interview or focus group as efficient and effective as possible without introducing bias into the session.

WORKSHOP AGENDA

SESSION 1: DESIGNING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS

• Keys to moderating – the basics every moderator needs to know
• How does qualitative research fit into the overall research scheme and how can it be used most effectively
• Determine which qualitative research techniques are most effective for your project
• Pointers on determining how many groups, which participants to invite, which cities to select and the appropriate moderator
• Typical costs and fees

SESSION 2: DISCUSSION GUIDE DEVELOPMENT

• How to create a discussion guide
• Sequencing of topics and questions
• What should and shouldn’t be included in a guide
• The inverted pyramid approach
• The four main stages of a discussion guide
• Discussion guide workshop

SESSION 3: HOW TO ELICIT RESPONSES

• Review three levels of eliciting responses
• Nonverbal communication techniques
• Questioning skills – direct and nondirect questions, probing, the why question
• How to avoid asking biasing questions
• How to ask importance questions
• Laddering techniques and questioning skills

SESSION 4: PRACTICE INTERVIEWS

• Practice one-on-one virtual interviews with a fellow classmate(s)
• During this exercise each participant will use a guide they created to practice their questioning techniques
• After each interview, the small group will discuss the session and provide feedback for the moderator from a participant’s point of view
• The seminar leader will debrief the group and share key learnings

SESSION 5: MANAGING GROUP DYNAMICS

• Learn how to "liven up" and bring energy to dull sessions
• Video clips and examples of how to handle non-responsive, unqualified or dominant participants
• What to do when participants ask questions
• Dealing with group related dynamics
• Backroom tips and tricks

SESSION 6: MODERATE A VIRTUAL MOCK FOCUS GROUP

• This session will provide each seminar participant with the opportunity to apply everything we have learned during the seminar
• The group will be divided up into small teams
• Each person on the team will then lead a 30 minute virtual mock focus group with your teammates
• A Burke Insitute moderator will observe your virtual group and provide feedback for you and your team
• The feedback session will be an interactive sharing by everyone on that team
• Each seminar participant will have the opportunity to watch and learn from other moderators as they lead their groups
• Each seminar participant will also have the opportunity to be a participant to see what it is like to both moderate and participate in a focus group

More Seminar Information

The Burke Institute Delivery Method  On-Site Training