8. Theoretical and Empirical Approach
8.3 The Process of conducting Focus Groups
measurement. This means that a similar methodology will make it possible to reproduce the same results and measure the same each time the analysis is repeated.
To secure reliability, we will describe every step of the process of conducting our focus groups, including the documentation of the used procedure of recruitment, development of questionnaire and transcription of the interviews afterwards. The low amount of participants will though make reliability an issue, which we need to take into account.
Our recruitment will not be based on any other criteria since we want to maintain the broad perspective. Furthermore, we were not able to find any evident difference between the consumers’ awareness and use of the different optician retail brands, when we separated the respondents in the survey from TNS Gallup geographically between east and west of Denmark103. This lack of difference made us confident that there is no reason to recruit participants from different areas of Denmark or conduct several focus groups in both Jutland and on Zealand.
8.3.2 Recruitment of the Participants
The recruitment of the needed participants is made by sending out a written invitation, which contains a short introduction of us as students on CBS, an explanation of why the participant’s help is needed and also all the necessary practical information104. In the invitation, we are only writing that the focus group concerns the optician retail sector, which is absolutely on purpose. There are no further details about optician retail brands or sub-subjects, since it is important that the participants do not make any specific thoughts or observations before coming to the session. Because we want to examine the participants’ perceptions of the optician retail sector and try to get information about the consumers’ decision making and their experiences with the optician retailers, our interviews require that the participants do not acquaint themselves with specific information that can influence their memory, immediate thoughts or attitudes.
8.3.3 Planning the Questionnaire
The focus group interviews will consist of two parts: the general and broad discussion and the exercises with perceptual maps. For the general and broad discussion, we have planned a questionnaire that can guide us with sub-subjects and questions throughout the interview105. The questionnaire is designed with open questions in order to make the participants answer with their own words and thereby create open discussions. To gather as much information as possible and to make the participants prioritize the store image attributes and evaluate the
103 See Appendix 3: Awareness and Considerations to visit the Optician Retailers - East vs. West
104 See Appendix 4: Invitation to participate in Focus Group Interview
105 See Appendix 5: Questionnaire – Focus Group Interview
optician retail brands as planed, we will moreover handout 2 additional small question-naires106.
A third questionnaire concerns brand personalities, and it consists of a list with 50 different brand characteristic words. As we in the thesis use Aakers’ theory of brand personality the majority of the words are derived from Aakers 5 personality traits, as touched upon earlier in the thesis. Since Aakers’ brand characteristics are not designed to the retail sector, we think that some characteristics are missing. Therefore, we have added words like quality- and detail oriented, innovative, cheap, discount, professional, experience, technical and accom-modating107.
The focus groups interviews also include exercises in which the participants will have to make perceptual maps. The exercise requires the participants to place the five optician retail brands on maps that have price vs. quality and price vs. service on the axis. The objective of this exercise is to see, how the participants perceive and place the optician retail brands and make them discuss the different brands while placing them on the maps. Furthermore, the results of the different exercises will make us able to compare them to the perceptual maps we have drawn from TNS Gallup.
8.3.4 Practical Preparations
We will use a dictaphone to record the interviews, which makes it possible for the moderator only to focus upon the interview and eliminate the need of taking notes regularly. The dictaphone also captures every small statements and comments, which can easily be overheard and not noted, if and when several participants talk at the same time. As we both will be present during the interviews, the one not being the moderator will be responsible for filling out a register paper and fill out what each person says. Hereby we secure that the information will not be lost by eventual technical problems plus make it possible to register observations concerning the participants’ body language e.g. nod by agreement. Before the interview starts, the participants will be informed that it will be recorded for documentation.
106 See Appendix 6: Prioritizing the 5 attributes + Appendix 7: Evaluation of the Optician Retailers
107 See Appendix 8: Brand Characteristics – Handout
The holding of the interviews will take place in April in a loaned office space in the center of Copenhagen. There will be one table where the main part of the interview will go on and next to this, we will have a separate table for the exercise of perceptual maps. Hereby, all the participants can stand and be involved in placing the brands in the respective maps. The setting will be made cozier and more relaxed then a normal meeting room by adding some refreshments and soften the lightening. The company, which normally uses the office, will furthermore remove their posters, diagrams and other charts from the walls to eliminate distractions.
8.3.5 Typing the Interview
Before we are able to analyze the results, we need to transcribe the interviews to text. This transcription does have some uncertainties linked that we need to be aware of in order to secure reliability108. E.g. it might be difficult to understand what exactly the participants mean by one statement or maybe the participants will talk at the same time, and it can be difficult to catch the exact phrases.
To secure reliability, we will both transcribe the text and afterwards compile the information so it can be applied in the analysis109. We have chosen to transcribe the interview in Danish, so we can have the exact original words and statements from the participants. In addition, all information concerning the conduction of the focus group interviews are included in either the thesis or appendix so that it is made possible to compare the results by repetition of the same data collection.