Watch these videos and create a code book

Watch the following videos which are a focus group about Gen Eds. 

You will need to transcribe the videos, create a codebook, code it, and write a summary. 

Transcribing takes a long time so reviews the videos in your group and split up the transcribing duties among the group. The creation of the code book, coding and the summary is on your own.

  

Video 1

Video 2

• Listen with openness: suspend your judgments and biases and listen for those things with which you agree as well as those you might challenge;
• Listen with curiosity: engage your desire to learn, rather than to try to “fix” anything;
• Listen without asking questions that interrupt the speaker: jot down your questions and save them for later;
• Listen for patterns and for what is not being said; and, finally,
• Listen with intention: what do you intend to learn or do with the information you’ll learn?

Watch this TED Talk on listening. 

A systematic way to code data is to ask yourself the following questions as you read the

text:

 What is this saying? What does it represent?

 What is this an example of?

 What do I see is going on here?

 What is happening?

 What kind of events are at issue here?

 What is trying to be conveyed?

The format of your final document

Steps to writing your executive brief 

Step 1

Create a title page. Include the title of the report, client names, business name and author(s) names(s). The title page should look clean, professional and aesthetically pleasing.

Step 2

Attach a table of contents. It will serve as a useful tool so clients can skip to areas of interest without having to read the entire report.

Step 3

Summarize the report in the executive summary (see GOOD example below) . The executive summary is a one- or two-page explanation of information in your market research report. This allows your readers to receive the gist of the report without reading the entire thing, especially during presentations and meetings. This is what you have gained from your many discussions, talks with speakers, your own research and the class research. 

Step 4

Write an introduction, which addresses background information your learned about gen eds, functions of the gen eds, target audience and objectives of the research study on gen ed in reference to Arts and Sciences. The introduction should be about one page about 400-500 words. 

Step 5

Write the qualitative research section of the body. This section outlines the focus group research step and the questions answered. Describe the participants in the research, their needs, conclusions and how they affect your business. This is a good place to make tables, graphs and other visuals. Since you are doing this on the a site you can include audio and/or video of your focus group. 

Step 6

Write the survey research section of the body. This section should include what questions were asked in surveys, who took the surveys (broken down by groups), and some of the most relevant or interesting answers to the questions.

Step 7

Summarize the types of data used in drawing conclusions. Include why you chose the research methods you did, how they helped you and how they will affect the business.

Step 8

Share your findings based on your research. Reveal all concrete conclusions discovered during research. Explain these conclusions in-depth in a clear presentation format.

Step 9

State your conclusions and call the reader to action. Your conclusions should be stated in broad form and directly address results found in your research. Never draw conclusions your findings do not directly support. Share any other relevant research or information. Often this helps refine how the research is done. It also means that covering old ground can be avoided, and this research builds on what is already known. Talk about competitor products and services. What they doing and are they doing it better? Include examples and/or web links.

This is a GOOD example of an executive summary from a marketing report.

This report was commissioned to examine why the sales volume of Choice Chocolate has dropped over the past two years since its peak in 1998 and to recommend ways of increasing the volume. The research draws attention to the fact that in 1998, the market share of Choice Chocolate was 37%. The shares of their key competitors such as Venus and Bradbury were 22% and 18% respectively. The size of the chocolate market then was $36 million. Over the next two years, although Choice Chocolate retained its market share the volume of sales in the whole market decreased to $29 million. Further investigations reveal that this market shrinkage coincided with an increase in health awareness amongst consumers who regard the milk and sugar ingredients in chocolate as negative;moreover, since the second half of 1999, an increasing number of rival ‘health candies’ had appeared on the market. These claimed to offer the consumers a healthy alternative. These factors appear to be the major causes of the decreased sales volume of Choice Chocolate. Slim Choice is the latest chocolate range put forward by the R & D Department of Choice Chocolate. The report evaluates this range and concludes that it would be an ideal candidate to meet the challenge presented by the market and could satisfy the new consumer demand since it uses significantly reduced milk and sugar ingredients and is endorsed by renowned health experts. According to 97% of the 2000 subjects tested recently, it also retains the same flavour as the original range. It is recommended:  that Choice Chocolate take immediate measures to launch and promote Slim Choice alongside its existing product range;  that Slim Choice adopt a fresh and healthy image;  that part of the launch campaign contains product endorsement statements by renowned health experts;  that Slim Choice be available in health food shops as well as in traditional chocolate retail outlets

Terms of reference Statement of problem/ topic Formal language appropriate to report writing Key findings summarised Problem solution summarized Recommendations  summarized

Making the questions count

• Sound conversational
• Use words the participants use
• Make clear and easy to ask
• Usually short and open-ended
• Usually one-dimensional
• Include clear, well-thought-out directions

   

Thinking about coding

How and what to code 

How do we post what we code?

Thinking about questions

An important step in preparing for the focus group interview is to develop a set of questions that
encourages group discussion. Good questions are conversational and natural. They are usually
short, open-ended, and one-dimensional—that is, they ask only one question at a time.
There are five general types of focus group questions, usually asked in the following order:

Opening questions are designed to get people talking and feeling comfortable. They 
should be easy to answer, but should not emphasize differences among group 
members.
Example: Tell us your name and how long you have been participating in the program.

Introductory questions are designed to get the group to start thinking about the topic at 
hand. They help focus the conversation.
Example: How was it that you first learned about the program?

Transition questions provide a link between the introductory questions and the key 
questions. They typically require more thought/reflection than the introductory questions.
Example: Think back to when you first became involved with the program. What were your first
impressions?

Key questions focus on the major areas of concern. Plan on devoting most of the 
session to discussion of these questions.
Example: In what way is your life different because of your participation in the program?

Ending questions bring the session to a close.
Example: Is there anything we should have talked about, but didn’t?

The specific order that you ask the questions is called the questioning route. A good questioning
route has an easy beginning, flows logically and naturally from one question to another, and
moves from the general to the specific. It is important to estimate the time required to exhaust
the discussion on each question. These time estimates can be used to help manage the focus
group discussion.

Citation: Rennekamp, R.A & Nall, M.A. Using Focus Groups in Program Development and Evaluation.

Focus Group Roles

Roles in the Process

• Facilitator – the person who leads each focus group.
• Recorder – the person who assists the facilitator in each focus group, capturing a detailed account of participant input.
• Data Analyst – the person who uses the recorder’s notes to conduct qualitative analysis of the focus group data.
• Report Writer – the person(s) who draft(s) the executive summary of the results of the focus groups.
• Scheduler – the person who schedules the focus groups.
• Manager of Logistics – the person who manages all the room arrangements, etc.

Note

• A person can play multiple roles in the process.
• More than one person can play a role (such as a writing team who prepares the report).

Skill Set by Role

Facilitator

• The ability to effectively facilitate a small group of 8 to 12 participants
• A good listener with the ability to ask good follow-up questions

Recorder

• A good listener with the ability to capture the essence of what people say and capture it in writing
• Good writing and editing skills to be able to produce an effective summary of each session

Data Analyst

• The ability to conduct qualitative analysis on extensive written input, including:
  • Developing a comprehensive summary of all focus group input
  • Organizing the information into themes of related items
  • Naming the themes in a way that captures their essence
• Providing an effective comprehensive summary to the Report Writer

Report Writer

• The ability to use the comprehensive summary as the basis for creating an effective Executive Summary

Scheduler

• The ability to carry out all aspects of inviting people to participate in the process and confirming their participation, including:
  • Getting availability from the Facilitators and Recorders
  • Issuing letters of invitation to participants
  • Receiving/initiating follow-up calls to confirm participation
  • Sending confirmation letters to participants with questions to think about in advance of the focus group
  • Providing the Facilitator and Recorder with information about who will be attending each session
  • Providing the Manager of Logistics with information on each session and the required logistics for it

Manager of Logistics

• Scheduling the meeting rooms and other requirements needed for each focus group, including refreshments if they are provided
• Ensuring the room set up and other logistics are planned and effectively carried out
• Providing any pre-session help the Facilitator and Recorder might need
• Providing any logistical follow-up for each session

A little about focus groups

Read the following information about focus groups. 

Our survey will go out on Friday. 

Dr. Amy Sarch, as our client's spokesperson, will meet with us next week about what kinds of information she is looking for. Take time and look at the 50 tips and come up with 10 that you think we can apply to our mission. Post them in a Google doc and share them with me by 9 p.m. tomorrow. 

Focus Groups

Defined

Focus groups are a data collection method.  Data is collected through a semi-structured group interview process.  Focus groups are moderated by a group leader.  Focus groups are generally used to collect data on a specific topic. 

Focus group methods emerged in the 1940s with the work of Merton and Fiske who used focus groups to conduct audience studies.

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Characteristics of focus groups

The design of focus group research will vary based on the research question being studied.  Below, we highlight some general principles to consider:

• Standardization of questions -- Focus groups can vary in the extent to which they follow a structured protocol or permit discussion to emerge

• Number of focus groups conducted - or sampling will depend on the 'segmentation' or different stratifications (e.g. age, sex, socioeconomic status, health status) that the researcher identifies as important to the research topic

• Number of participants per group - the rule of thumb has been 6-10 homogeneous strangers, but as Morgan (1996) points out there may be reasons to have smaller or slightly larger groups

• Level of moderator involvement - can vary from high to low degree of control exercised during focus groups (e.g. extent to which structured questions are asked and group dynamics are actively managed)

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When focus groups might be used

Focus groups may be used:

• To explore new research areas

• To explore a topic that is difficult to observe (not easy to gain access)

• To explore a topic that does not lend itself to observational techniques (e.g. attitudes and decision-making)

• To explore sensitive topics

• When you want to collect a concentrated set of observations in a short time span

• To acertain perspectives and experiences from people on a topic, particularly when these are people who might otherwise be marginalized

• In combination with other methods, focus groups might be used to:

• gather preliminary data

• aid in the development of surveys and interview guides

• clarify research findings from another method

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Recording focus group data

One of the challenges in recording focus group data is knowing who is speaking at any particular time, since often multiple people speak in overlap.

• Consider audio- or video-recording focus group sessions (or even both).  Video will be helpful for identifying who is speaking. Recordings also provide access to nuances of the discussion and the abilility to replay sessions during analysis

• Transcribe focus group discussions

• Have a least 2-3 researchers (in addition to the moderator) attend the focus group and take notes.  The focus of each researcher's note-taking efforts might be different (e.g. nonverbal behavior, group dynamics, emergent themes). 

• Note taking is important to capture nonverbal data.  Even if one is video-recording a group, some nonverbal behavior will be lost that might be recorded by a note-taker.

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Benefits

• Ability to produce a large amount of data on a topic in a short time

• Access to topics that might be otherwise unobservable

• Can insure that data directly targets researcher's topic

• Provide access to comparisons that focus group participants make between their experiences. This can be very valuable and provide access to consensus/diversity of experiences on a topic

BASIC RESEARCH ISSUES

As technology advances, marketing researchers continually look for ways to adapt new technology to the practice of research. However, researchers must never forget that research basics cannot be overlooked. Rather, what must be done is to adapt the new techniques and technologies to these basics. All studies must address the following basic issues (Anderson, Berdie, & Liestman, 1984):
1 - ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.
 This is the essence of project design and the heart of proper planning. Every project is unique, and as
 such must be tailored to the user’s needs.
2- ASK THE RIGHT PEOPLE.
 The goal of sample design should be that only those people who are of interest to the researcher are
 contacted, and that those contacted are representative of the group of interest
3 - ASK QUESTIONS THE RIGHT WAY.
 It is not enough to be able to ask the right questions; they must be asked the right way. This is the
 essence of questionnaire design. If the wording of the questions is not clear to the respondents, the
 results will be useless. Pretesting the questionnaire is crucial for ensuring that responses are the ones
 that are needed.
4 - OBTAIN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS.
 Data collection is central to all marketing research. The techniques used should minimize
 non-response while maximizing response.
5 - RELATE ANSWERS TO THE NEEDS OF THE RESEARCH USER/CLIENT.
 Data seldom speaks for itself. Proper data analysis is needed if a study is to have any value to the user.
 Here there is a risk of letting advanced techniques become the master of the researcher rather than
 the opposite. Common sense is a valuable tool for the researcher when considering alternative analysis
 approaches for any project.
6 - COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY AND IN A WAY THAT THE CLIENT UNDERSTANDS.
 Many good projects are ruined because the information that is reported to the user is in a form that is
 not understandable. Reports must tell the user what information is relevant, and how it is relevant to
 the issues at hand.

HOW TO FORMULATE THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

Problem formulation is simplified once we define the components of the research problem.
1. Specify the Research Objectives
A  clear statement of objectives will help you develop effective research. It   will help the decision makers evaluate your project. It’s critical that you have manageable objectives. (Two or three clear goals will help to keep your research project focused and relevant.)

2. Review the Environment or Context of the Problem
As a marketing researcher, you must work closely with your team. This will help you determine whether the findings of your project will produce enough information to be worth the cost. In order to do this,
you have to identify the environmental variables that will affect the research project. These variables will be discussed in-depth in later chapters.

3. Explore the Nature of the Problem
Research problems range from simple to complex, depending on the number of variables and the nature of their relationship. If you understand the nature of the problem as a researcher, you will be able to
better develop a solution for the problem. To help you understand all dimensions, you might want to
consider focus groups of consumers, sales people, managers, or professionals to provide what is sometimes much needed insight.

4. Define the Variable Relationships
Marketing plans often focus on creating a sequence of behaviors that occur over time, as in the adoption of a new package design, or the introduction of a new product. Such programs create a commitment to
follow some behavioral pattern in the future. Studying such a process involves:
• Determining which variables affect the solution to the problem.
• Determining the degree to which each variable can be controlled.
• Determining the functional relationships between the variables and which variables are
 critical to the solution of the problem.

During the problem formulation stage, you will want to generate and consider as many courses of action and variable relationships as possible.

5. The Consequences of Alternative Courses of Action
There are always consequences to any course of action. Anticipating and communicating the possible
outcomes of various courses of action is a primary responsibility in the research process. Exhibit 1.3
provides an example of a company introducing a new product based on research that did not examine
relevant variables in the consumer purchase decision.

Developing the research questions

To understand faculty and student perception of the College of Arts and Sciences 

To understand faculty and student perception of the C of A&S  in relation to general education  

To gather gen ed requirements from ODAC schools and aspirational schools to compare to our perception findings 

In order to: 

Provide some grounding for a rebranding of A&S and provide some suggestions of for that branding based on the above research.

Stage 1: Clarify purpose of the research

1. Goals
• what the research is trying to accomplish? For example: the research intends to provide
wild mushroom harvesters more information about the condition of the mushroom crop
so as to help them have an informed dialogue with the Forest Service
• what type of problems the research is trying to solve? Are they ecological, economic
and/ or social? Examples are: the sustainable harvest of Non Timber Forest Products
(an ecological problem), forest worker rights (a social problem), and better markets for
small-diameter wood (an economic problem)

2. General Strategy
• what is the plan to attain research goals? Will the research involve: organizing meetings,
workshops, interviews, or data collection? Will the data be ecological, social, cultural, or
economic?

3. Values of the research partners 

• what are the ground rules that will guide the research? For example, ground rules can lay 

out the degree of emphasis on stakeholder involvement, transparency, organizing, 

capacity-building, and training. Also ground rules can clarify who will own the research 

results, and how will they be distributed

Stage 2: Identifying and involving diverse stakeholders in the research

Strategy. Identify all stakeholders affected by the research. Regardless of why parties choose 

to be involved, it is crucial that their participation is treated with respect. 

Tools. Make a list of stakeholders using the following questions. 

• Who is affected by the research? 

• Are there stakeholders who should be involved, but may need support? 

• What support is required and how can it be provided? 

• Are political or institutional “change agents” represented?

Stage 3: Building Trust

Unlike conventional research processes, developing the research question is not the starting 

point of the PR process. Building trust is a necessary stage prior to developing the research 

question. Building community members trust in the research process which is so crucial in 

PR takes a lot of time and patience. 

Strategy: Create space for informal communication and regular interaction amongst 

research partners in order to build trust. 

Tools: 

What is the college student equivalency of these tools? 

• Gatherings in people’s homes 

• Getting together over food such as potluck meals 

• Field visits 

• Informal meetings and meetings in small groups 

• Training sessions 

• E-mail lists and listservs for a greater flow of information 

Stage 4: Building Common Understanding

Questions to design a process that builds common understanding· 

• Is the language (scientific, cultural terms, English) being used understandable to all? 

• Do all stakeholders recognize and respect the different individual and cultural 

approaches to communication? 

• Do some stakeholders require technical or financial support to participate more fully? 

How can it be provided? 

Strategies. Stakeholders should be encouraged to explicitly spell out their goals so that it is 

possible to see where they overlap, and where the differences are. The most common 

strategy is to organize a meeting of stakeholders. The tools described in this section relate to 

organizing and facilitating meetings. They may not be appropriate for working with culturally 

diverse communities, and thus may need to be adapted to suit their needs. 

For example, when working with wild mushroom harvesters from Southeast Asia in Oregon, 

I found that they do not like to participate and speak in formal meetings. However after 

informally interacting with people with other groups, they willingly participate in meetings 

that include people whom they have got to know and trust. I cannot overemphasize how 

much sharing meals with them helped builds trust. 

Once a common understanding has been negotiated, and the stakeholder groups and the 

researchers agree on the goals of the research, this agreement could be formally recorded. A 

way to do this is for all participating groups to sign a memorandum of understanding that 

broadly outlines what the research hopes to accomplish. Though this seems an overly formal 

way to define a collaborative process, however it provides clarity and may help resolve future 

conflicts. An example of a formal agreement is that the NCFC regional centers sign a 

contract with their partner communities that describe the goals of the research. 

Tools. There are several different ways meetings can be organized for building a common 

understanding. For example, invite people with expertise on relevant issues to speak briefly. 

This could be used to initiate discussions. Also, experienced facilitators could facilitate 

meetings. When organizing meetings, we should pay careful attention to location and time so 

 5that it is convenient for stakeholders to participate. We should allow adequate time

Some of the tools that can be used in a meeting format are: 

1. Note card exercise
The purpose of this exercise is finding common ground and 

identifying shared priorities and values. At the beginning of a meeting of stakeholders who 

are trying to seek common understanding, ask people to fill out cards as they enter: “In five 

years, I’d like our community to have/be ___________”. Collect cards; shuffle them; read 

them out or capture on flipchart. Usually people find they have more vision in common than 

they thought.

2. Brainstorming creative solutions 
This exercise is used by groups of people working on a 

project to expose their preliminary ideas about the project for all those involved to see. 

The key ground rules are 

a) every idea is worthwhile 

b) suspend judgment - no critiques, evaluation, censorship; 

c) capture all ideas for later discussion

3. Venn Diagrams (People love visuals.)
This method uses diagrams to identify linkages and overlaps in ideas or 

perceptions. These commonalties are the used to a shared understanding of a issue, problem, 

or situation. The Venn Diagram is made up of two or more overlapping circles (see example 

below from www.graphic.com). They are used to describe and compare elements and 

characteristics of a situation. To create a Venn diagram to identify a shared understanding of an issue in a group setting, you can follow these steps: 

Step 1. Draw three circles which partially overlap and name them A, B and C.

Step 2. Ask group "What are the 3 most important elements of the issue?" Write these three 

elements in each of the three circles.

Step 3: Ask group “What is common between the elements in Circle A and B, or how can 

the differences between the elements in these circles be resolved?” Fill in the overlapping 

area of the two circles with the group’s response. 

Step 4. Repeat Step 3 with Circle B and C, and then with Circle C and A. 

The overlapping areas now document the common characteristics of the issue identified by 

the group and can form the basis of shared understanding.

Stage 5: Identify the Research Question or Questions