USING FOCUS GROUPS TO TEACH PROBLEM DEFINITION IN BASIC MARKETING RESEARCH Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 15, 1988 217 USING FOCUS GROUPS TO TEACH PROBLEM DEFINITION IN BASIC MARKETING RESEARCH Donald A. Fuller, University of Central Florida ABSTRACT The subject matter in the problem definition section of the basic marketing research course is difficult for students to grasp without hands-on experience. This paper demonstrates the approach of bringing the focus group concept Into the classroom as means of facilitating student learning and understanding in this area. INTRODUCTION Many instructors use the development of a survey research project as the vehicle for tying together the concepts and topics in the basic marketing research course. The initial phase of project design--problem definition--presents the student with a uniquely difficult learning situation early on in the course. This article examines the use of in-class focus groups as a means of facilitating student learning during this first critical stage of project development, and is based on two semesters of application in the basic marketing research course BACKGROUND Problem definition is difficult for students to grasp because it tends to be unstructured, has few pat answers, and requires a Rood bit of intellectual “thrashing around” in order to reach a solution. In addition, most students lack practical experience in this area, and a significant minority probably have little interest in the subject. The focus group, however, represents a standard industry procedure for getting a handle on problem definition (Bellinger, Bernhart, and Coldstucker 1976; Goldman and McDonald 1987) . The focus group also represents an opportunity for students to get personally involved and also to move them towards obtaining a specific solution of the problem at hand (identification of information needs) so that the class can continue on to the questionnaire design phase of the survey research process. FOCUS GROUP PROCESS Inclusion of the focus group it the basic marketing research class can be viewed as a time-sequenced, multi-stage process lasting 3-4 class weeks during a 16 week, 4 semester hour course. The “process” starts with only a general Idea as to what is to be researched (e.g., general subject) and ends with a final list of “research information needs.” As this process is carried through to completion, three person student teams and the instructor go through a series of programmed activities described as follows: (1) pre-group activities, (2) focus group session activities, and (3) post- group activities. These activities are summarized in Exhibit 1. Pre-Group, Activities Pre-group activities cover the facilities, equipment, recruitment process, and paperwork necessary to properly administer a series of two one-hour focus groups, scheduled back-to-back, for each class session. The first priority is to locate an appropriate place to hold the group session (if the classroom is unsatisfactory) and the necessary recording equipment to create a working-quality tape recording of the event for later use. Since this is an educational exercise and specialized one-way mirror rooms are not avail- able, the basic approach has been to use a carpeted classroom and cluster the group participants around a table in the center of the room with the students (usually 20-40) occupying seats behind the participants in a circular fashion. The physical setup and staffing include 3-4 directional microphones on the table along with an A/V person to monitor the tape deck and “flip” tapes when necessary since sessions often exceed 60 minutes counting administrative time. Arrangements for post-group copying of tapes and the use of student listening facilities should also be made at this time. In our case, this involves making arrangements with the university media center and communicating appropriate information (hours of operation, days of operation, etc.) to the students. A basic paperwork requirement for any focus group is a “moderator guide” which is used to keep the group discussion on target. To involve students in the creation of this document, student teams are required to complete the “Moderator Guide” assignment (See Exhibit 2) . This assignment is essentially an idea generator which the instructor uses to create the final moderator r guide for reproduction and distribution (See Exhibit 3). Group member recruitment presents special problems because we cannot follow the usual practice of offering participants a monetary Incentive. The solution has been to offer students a 2% course grade curve if they successfully deliver a participant to the scheduled session (the normal day and time of class meeting). The participant must meet Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 15, 1988 218 certain criteria (which depend on the study) but usual restrictions include avoiding immediate family members, fellow students, and faculty members. While the 2% curve is an important incentive to some students, it is usually necessary to overbook to a level of 12-14 participants in order to be insured of having an ideal 7-10 participants “on- hand” at the session. Group Session Activities These activities mainly insure that participants are handled courteously and professionally upon their arrival, and are properly identified by name so the moderator can refer to them by name during the session. In addition, each respondent fills out a very limited personal data profile (age, sex, employment,, etc.) which helps to further identify the respondent in the subsequent analysis of the tapes (See Exhibit 4). Conducting the sessions can only be described as a “center stage” activity that must be handled by the instructor. The moderator’s guide Is essential to this task. Students are required to attend and, for the most part, serve as observers. However, the teams are required to sit together, take notes, and to formulate written questions which are passed to the moderator near the end of the session to “pick up” on overlooked subjects, topics, etc. Post-Group Activities The major post-group activity involves completing the “Research Information Needs” activity (See Exhibit 5). In a nutshell, the student teams get together, listen to the topics, and extract relevant ideas which they submit in a written memo using an outline format. The instructor distills the best information from these, adds personal input, and creates a final list of “Research Information Needs” (See Exhibit 6) . This final list becomes the “target” for the next stage in the research design process---questionnaire design. Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 15, 1988 219 PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES Taking a detailed look at any process inevitably uncovers a number of basic problems and opportunities. Several associated with in-house focus groups are discussed below. Student Team Size Team input, rather than individual Input, is clearly the way to go in this case. First, the tack of experience on the part of individual students clearly shows the need for interaction with others to help come up with the abstract ideas required in this process. Second, real world marketing research activity of this type almost always involves a consulting team, a departmental team, o other small working group. Why not put the student in the “real world” setting? Grading of Student Activities In this process, a rather liberal grading system has been used for each graded activity. Due to the “totally creative” type of inputs sought from students (Moderator Guide, Research Information Requirements) , I have chosen a system that awards “0” points for “expected” behavior, and a negative 1- 5 points (percentage points off final course percentage grade a negative curve) for less than “expected” work. What’s “expected”? A professionally done memo (both activities) which exhibits reasonable organization and provides evidence of insightful thinking; in other words, a good first cut at the problem. I save the negative points for groups that obviously “trash” the assignment. My experience has been that very few groups take the latter approach and that allowing a rather wide range of creative approaches to qualify as “expected” behavior frees students up so that the teams really do deliver what is needed--creative, insightful input. Group Participant Recruiting The main difficulty is being absolutely sure enough “outside” people show up to staff the group (between 7 and 10 participants is ideal). Overbooking, plus the 2% grade incentive previously mentioned, has worked to delivery enough bodies in the past. Another caution is to always use all participants who arrive for the session. Students are told to use the “help me as a student, help the university” appeal when recruiting participants from the community. To have an individual come to a session not the university and then to be told they are not needed results in absolutely negative public relations! Facilities and Equipment Since ideal facilities are not available, classrooms and conference rooms are the usual places focus groups are held. This means that in order to participate and observe the session, students must be present in the same room which tends to make the group session less spontaneous and intimate. I find that simply explaining this situation to the group participants relaxes them considerably. One problem that can be avoided is poor quality audio recording. This is accomplished by selecting a room with carpeting (to dampen background noise) and by doing a dry run with the recording equipment and making physical adjustments as necessary. Murphy’s Law Whenever one sticks his/her neck out to bring a “real world” approach into the classroom, the potential exists for “everything that can go wrong to go wrong!” While examples abound, two specific incidents are enough to convey the point: Case I - The group meets for the session in classroom 212 on the second floor. Unknown to us, building construction is going on one level below. Just after the tape is turned on and the group has been “settled in,” a jack hammer begins removing the concrete floor 25 feet below the meeting room. Case II - The group meets for the sessions in classroom 212 on the second floor. The session starts normally, but five minutes later the lights go out (the room has only one small window) and stay out for 2 hours (a cable has been severed on the other side of the campus). The group goes on in the lark. While these types of episodes do happen and cause certain difficulties (tapes in both Cases I & II were not available for later use) , they also make excellent “war series” for the next class, demonstrate the need to stay cool and see the work Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 15, 1988 220 through, and give students a working knowledge of “Murphy’s Law.” Student Feedback Students who like real world involvement and participation type events like this approach; those who only want to read a book and pass an objectives test for a grade are less enthusiastic. Most, however, appreciate the opportunity to earn a 2% curve early in the course, and the practical nature of the work (attempting to solve a real problem in a real world setting) and its potential for later application on the lob appeals to all but the most apathetic of students. CONCLUSION The in-class focus group offers the opportunity to get students directly involved in problem definition. The activity demonstrates a “real world” technique with its attendant problems/opportunities in terms of implementation and results. This type of in-class activity will be continued in the belief that it does strengthen the student’s understanding of problem definition phase of the market research process. REFERENCES Bellenger, Danny N., Kenneth L. Bernhart, and Sac L. Goldstucker (1976), Qualitative Research in Marketing, Chicago, Illinois: American Marketing Association, Monograph Series #3 Goldman, Alfred E., and Susan Schwartz McDonald (1987), The Group Depth Interview: Principles and Practice, Englewood-Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, Inc. Table of Contents Volume 15, 1988 The Role of Experiential Knowledge and Human Information Processing in Decision Making A Semantic Differential Instrument to Evaluate Experiential Teaching Methods A Comparison of Two Approaches to Management Skill-Building in an Organizational Behavior Course: A Replication Integrating Simulations: A Model for Business Policy Success Capstone Renaissance = Simulation + Interaction + DSS A Hybrid Method of Executing a Management Simulation: Combining the Best of Mainframes and Microcomputers Providing an Experiential Dimension to Cost/Managerial Accounting Courses Utilization of Computerized Tax Research Services in the Tax Research Curriculum Using and Expert System Based Decision Aid in Accounting Information Systems Event-Extended Entity-Relationship Diagrams for Understanding Simulation Model Structure and Function Multiple Objectives in the Development of the Gordon Macro Game A Comparative Study of Strategic Performance Factors in Actual and Simulated Business Environments An Empirical Investigation of Integrated Spatial-Proximity MCDM-Behavioral Problem Solving Technology Group Decision models Computer Simulation of Human Interaction The Role of Experiential Learning and Simulation in Teaching Management Skills Expert Systems - The New Business Simulation Tool Integrating Prolog into and Undergraduate Logistics Course Simulating Material Requirements Planning on Lotus 1-2-3 Innovation in Management Education: The Impact of the AACSB Experiential Learning in the International Environment Educational Testing with the Microcomputer A Simulation of Investment Analysis, Portfolio Management and Reporting Using Lotus 1-2-3 The Use of an Expert System to Develop Strategic Scenarios Two Exercises for Teaching about Motivation Sex Roles and the Good Manager A Form and Process for Nonconfidential Peer Evaluations Simulation and the Recalcitrant Student Employee Rights-Student Rights: A Classroom Exercise Computer Simulated Competition: An Alternative to Team Play Management Simulation The Relationship of Locus of Control and Vividness of Imagination Measures to Simulation Performance Formal Planning, Simulation Team Performance, and Satisfaction: A Replication Experimental Analysis of Magnitude and Source of Students' Inequitable Classroom Perceptions in Three Reward Conditions Strategy Design, Process and Implementation in a Stable/Complex Environment: An Exploratory Study Matching a Strategy Simulation to the Business Policy Literature: A Black Box Approach to Simulation Development An Evolutionary Classroom Experiential and Computer Simulation Model of a Corporate Strategic Planning System Collective Bargaining in the City of Elson: A Public Sector Experience Should Students Play Games in Labor Relations? Applying Cognitive Educational Objectives to Business Management Cases Grading as a Teaching and Feedback Mechanism: Involving Students in the Grading Process Teaching Controversies: A New Approach to Computer-Assisted Instruction and Simulation Packages Simulating Demand in and Independent-Across-Firm Management Game Advertising Response in the Gold and Pray Algorithm: A Critical Assessment A Model for Pricing Decisions in First Period Marketing Simulation Games Jog Your Right Brain: An Exercise for the Classroom and for Research Six Thinking Hats: An Exercise to Combat Confusion and Develop Thinking Skills Communicating in Context: A Simulation for Learning Business Communication A Simulated Consulting Service for the Compete Marketing Simulation Game Action Exams in the Consumer Behavior Class Using Focus Groups to Teach Problem Definition in Basic Marketing Research The Use of Journals in Management Simulations: A Literature Review and an ABSEL Response An Initial Step Towards Developing and Using an Expert System with a Business Simulation Self-Managed Learning: An Experiential Course Design Using the QWL Paradigm A Review of Current Developments in Experiential Learning Bring the Real World into the Classroom Assessing Student Performance on a Business Simulation Experience Minimizing Startup Anxiety: Case Studies of Simulation Experiences A Tale of Two Shepards Or Using Simulation in a Class Without Walls Enhancing Business Simulations Through the Utilization of Experiential Activities Involving Local Community Executives Simulation with Integrated Spreadsheets: The Design and Development of a Conversational Marketing Concepts Decision Game Introducing INMART: An International Marketing Simulation Using a Computer-Based Business Plan Assistant in Conjunction with a Marketing Simulation Game Overview of the ABSEL Guide to Experiential Learning and Simulation Learning