Impact of Social Presence on Focus Group Success
Abstract
As computers and alternatives of communication become more widespread, researchers are beginning to turn to new approaches to conduct data collection. A frequently used technique for collecting preliminary data or follow-up research is focus groups. The present study compared two types of computer-based focus groups with traditional face-to-face focus groups. The two types of computer-based focus groups utilized a chat room environment and laptop computers to facilitate the discussions. The two computer conditions included one in which participants could see and hear each other (computer-mediated) and another in which barriers and noise-canceling headphones blocked such access to social cues (Internet-simulated). The conditions were designed such that the face-to-face condition would have the highest social presence, the computer-mediated would have a moderate level of social presence, and the Internet-simulated would have the lowest social presence. It was believed that the level of social presence would have a significant impact on the level of participation, participant satisfaction, as well as the quantity and quality of the data. A total of 27 focus groups were conducted over two weeks during the spring of 2002 at the Combat Systems and Engineering "A" Schools of the Naval Training Center Great Lakes. Results indicated that differences were found in the number of words used to communicate in the three conditions; however, similar levels of participation, satisfaction, quantity, and quality of participation were obtained for each condition. In contrast to what was expected, social presence did not distinguish between the different conditions. Overall, the results indicated that conducting computer-based focus groups can be done in a successful manner and can achieve similar results to that typically found in traditional face-to-face methods.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA450999
Entities
People
- Christina Underhill
- Murrey Olmsted
Organizations
- Navy Personnel Research, Studies, and Technology