Welcome back, for this lesson I am going to actively show you what it looks like to recruit for a focus group. I will present you some video clips of me on the beautiful University of California Davis campus. Where I am actively recruiting participants for a business case scenario. I will provide commentary about the various real world acceptances, and rejections. And, yes, not everyone will want to participate, so you will need to be able to move forward with confidence. Now for a business case scenario. We allotted two to four hours to recruit the participants. Sometimes this part goes quickly, but sometimes it takes some time to do. Just be patient, but persistent. You will find enough people that will match your target audience. At the end of this lesson you will be able to recruit for a specific project and overcome rejection to gain confidence. So let's get started. When you set out to recruit focus group participants, you are seeking a homogeneous group. Miriam Webster defines, quote, homogeneous as, quote, of the same or similar kind of nature, unquote. Or quote, of uniform structure or composition throughout, unquote. Such as quote, a culturally homogeneous neighborhood, unquote. This does not mean that participants will all think alike or be related to each other. It does mean that participants are similar in terms of particular criteria, important to the focus group topic. For example, you could be recruiting to find people who all have Medicare or areall IV drug users. Or all are a certain income bracket or age group. For a business case scenario focus group, I will be recruiting for a homogeneous group that are UC Davis students in the 20 to 30 age range. Who have purchased a high end cell phone in the last couple of years. You choose where and how you recruit based on a logical appraisal of where you can find the people who best meet the criteria set by the business questions your client has hired you to research. So it makes logical sense to look for UC Davis students on the UC Davis Campus. I would visually screen for those in the age range 20 to 30. I also might initially approach people I see using a high-end cellphone. The tools I would use for recruiting include those you developed previously. The screener, a flier and a confirmation letter. As I set out in search of 8 to 12 focus group participants, I would have my screener, or screening questionnaire, ready on a clipboard. You can find the screener I created in the course resources. I would also post flyers created to attract people with the criteria we are seeking. You can find that flyer created for this purpose in the resources as well. You will note that the flyer specified UC Davis students for a fun discussion group. The mention of fun is to let them know it's not going to be difficult or boring or academic for that matter. Hopefully, it is to attract 20 somethings. It gives a logistical details, promises a reward and provides my contact information. These tools and my presence on UC Davis campus, will give me a good start finding the people we need to have a good focus group. We've recorded some of these interactions so you could see how I use the tools and what the recruiting experience looks like. I've provided you with video clips of me recruiting for focus group participants on the UC Davis campus. As you view these clips, imagine that you have been tasked with recruiting 8 to 12 focus group participants meeting our business case scenario criteria. Before you watch me do it, consider how you would approach it, review the screener, review the flyer. Look for what I do and I don't. Look for the best practices of recruiting we covered previously. I'm Susan Burman and I'm going to be moderating a focus group on Tuesday the 16th. It's a discussion group on the UC Davis campus at here, the International Center. And it's between 5:30 and 7:00 on Tuesday. >> Okay. >> And you get dinner and a Starbucks gift card and the topic is cellphones. Do you have a cellphone? >> Yeah. >> A newer one? >> Yeah. >> Have you bought one in the last couple of years? >> Yeah, I think last year. >> Great, great. And it's just a discussion group. It's very easy and fun. I'll be leading the group. >> Okay. >> And basically, are you between 20 and 30? >> Yeah. >> And a UC Davis student? >> Yes. >> Woo! Okay, well you won the jackpot. Are you interested in coming? >> Yeah! >> It's May 16th, which is next Tuesday, between 5:30 and 7:00. And it's a lot of fun. And just come as you are, whatever. And the topic again is cell phones. So I just need to ask you a few questions. >> Okay. >> You already answered that you fall within the age range, right? >> Yes. >> Between 20 and 30? And you're a UC Davis student. Okay, and what year of study are you in? >> Fourth year. >> Great, and what are you studying? Psychology and Chicano Studies. >> Wow, both, a double major? >> Psychology major. Chicano Studies minor. >> Great, wonderful. You can bring your intuition about things into the group. And let me get your name? >> My name is Adriana Rodriguez. A-D-R-I-A-N-A. Rodriguez, R-O-D-R-I-G-U-E-Z. >> And your cellphone? >> Area code 916-555-6281. >> And your email? >> My email is A-D-R-I-A-N-A _ R-O-D@gmail.com. >> Okay, and we're going to have my assistant, Jennifer, is going to be talking to you for a second, because we're going to have you sign a permission. We're going to be filming and audio taping the group. >> Okay. >> And just to give your permission for being on camera, etc. And we'll just be using it for the course. >> Okay. >> And everything will remain confidential otherwise. >> Okay. >> Okay? >> All right. >> Great. One of the most valuable keys to successful recruiting is to go into it knowing that not everyone will be interested. So plan how you would respond to a rejection of your offer. Remember, they are not rejecting you. But just the offer you are proposing. >> Excuse me? >> Yeah. >> Hi, I'm recruiting for a focus group that we're doing for UC Davis on campus here at the International Center. And it's for next week on Tuesday about cell phones, just a fun topic. And it's a one-time thing between 5:30 and 7:00. >> I'm at work. >> I work every Tuesday, Thursday nights. Yeah. >> Darn. Thanks so much though. >> Sorry. >> Sure, no problem. >> Another key to success is persistence. Don't even give yourself time to think about those who are not interested. Press on to those who are. I hope that seeing me recruiting in the real world based on our business case scenario will help you get around any intimidation or hesitation about this part of the qualitative research process. Excuse me. Sorry to bother you. >> Hi. >> Hi, I'm recruiting for a focus group, on the UC Davis campus for next week. It's on Tuesday at the International Center here between 5:30 and 7:00, one-time thing. It's not sales at all and it's on cell phones. >> Okay. >> And I'll be moderating the group, and it's for dinner, you get dinner, and you get a gift card, a Starbucks gift care for $20. >> Okay. >> For participating, and the topic is cell phones. Are you interested? >> So 5:30 to? >> To 7:00, that's it, on Tuesday night. >> I think I actually have classes then. >> I know, I'm sorry, I didn't think about it. >> Too bad, no problem. >> Sounds interesting though. >> It's really fun, yeah, it's a one-time thing. >> Okay. >> Thanks though. >> Yeah, sorry. >> Okay, sure, bye-bye. >> This is a very difficult process that many people will try to avoid. Just go to it and get it done. Being confident in recruiting for a focus groups will add significant value to you that you can bring forward to moving in this career path. In fact, recruiting on its own is a specialty. Another technique to use while recruiting is called snowball sampling. If you think of rolling a snowball to gather more snow, say to make it big enough to build a beautiful snowman, you have the idea. In qualitative market research, you can build a focus group by starting with direct recruiting as previously described. Once you have found someone who meets the criteria, you can ask that participant to suggest another participant like themselves who also meets the criteria. This technique can be used when it's difficult to find participants meeting a specific criteria. Or to get referrals when you need experts to interview. And if that person happens to be close by, go right on up to them. It makes sense that one person who meets your criteria most likely knows others who do too. When you go out recruiting for a homogeneous focus group, you are not just recruiting anyone you happen to meet. You are being selective based on the criteria needed by your client. So snowball sampling is an effective way to go to a second level once you've found someone who meets your criteria just using a direct approach. Your screener and your flyer. That wraps our look at recruiting for a business case scenario in the real world. After this lesson, you should be able to recruit for a specific project and overcome rejection to gain confidence.
