The Focus Group Blueprint

1. Design
   1. Identify your research topic.
   2. Form a work team.
   3. Designate a project manager.
   4. Draft a rough timetable. Schedule work team meetings and draft agendas.
   5. Clarify the aims of the research and draft research questions.
   6. Make decisions about focus group structure.
   7. Identify the types of students to recruit for each group.
   8. Make decisions about the logistics of the recruitment.
   9. Draft and revise interview questions.
   10. Make decisions about focus group facilitation.
   11. Plan facilitator training.
   12. Make decisions about facilitator logistics.
   13. Make decisions about site management.
   14. Make decisions about focus group recording and analysis.
   15. Plan your next steps.

2. Act
   1. Form a logistics team.
   2. Clarify the responsibilities for each logistics team member.
   3. Draw a random sample.
   4. Recruit student participants.
   5. Train, prepare, and manage facilitators.
   6. Run your pilot group(s).
   7. Collect permission forms and confirm student participation.
   8. Complete logistics planning.
   9. Conduct your focus groups.

3. Analyze and Report
   1. Form an analysis team.
   2. Produce a record of the focus groups and draft notes.
   3. Hold a facilitator debriefing session.
   4. Analyze the focus groups.
   5. Prepare a report.
   6. Reconvene the entire original work team.
   7. Release the report!
   8. Hold a final work team meeting.
   9. Put the results to work.

Next: Identify your research topic.