Deliberative focus groups

Deliberative focus groups are a qualitative market research method that can elevate the exploration of complex problems, product offerings, or policy decisions. These structured, facilitator-led sessions typically take place over several hours, providing participants with the time and space to engage in deep discussions about a specific topic. Deliberation techniques are employed to stimulate a mini public, or stakeholder, forum, actively encouraging the exchange of knowledge, information, and diverse viewpoints. Facilitators must be highly skilled and experienced to ensure reasoned debate and dialogue is maintained throughout and mutual understanding and respect is adhered to at all times.

Why deliberative research?

The core rationale for deliberative research is, typically, to uncover the informed, considered, views of members of the general public, often on complex issues which they may not normally be asked to contemplate. Typically, group sizes range between 16 and 50 people, though they can be much larger if needed, and use a variety of different activities and exercises to drive discussion. Intentionally high energy and designed to constantly drive debate forward and discussion, they can be hugely productive and get far deeper under the skin of difficult issues compared to a standard focus group.

A successful deliberative discussion will empower participants to become better informed and confident to articulate their informed point of view as opposed to expressing a pre-formed opinion. Enabling individuals to encounter contrasting views and ideas is vital to healthy, meaningful debate and to generate high-quality, unbiased insights.

How do we approach deliberative research at DJS Research?

Our approach to deliberative research is built upon three core principles which set this method apart from all other types of qualitative research. These clear principles are:

• The central aim of deliberative research: This is, always, to reach people’s informed and considered judgements, and underlying attitudes and values, in relation to the subject matter in hand through a process of public reasoning and debate.
• The deliberative process: Reliant on highly skilled researchers facilitating each session, important information about the subject must be drip-feed to participants to ensure they become both well informed and confident about discussing the topic and exchanging considered views with others.
• The expectation: Deliberative research is undertaken with the appreciation that the beliefs and values of participants may be transformed by involvement in the research. This is in stark contrast to most qualitative research methods where every effort is made to minimise the researcher’s role and influence as much as possible.

How do the deliberative groups work in practice?

Deliberative focus group sessions offer the ideal environment for stimulating a lively debate and capturing in-depth feedback. Every group is tailored to suit the needs of the project but, at a broad level, they are structured like a funnel; we typically start with very open-ended questions, which stimulate a wide range of responses, and as the discussion progresses more specific ideas are introduced and drilled down into as participants become more informed and focused on the specific subject area.

By alternating between full group discussions and smaller break-out exercises, we can generate both the breadth of overarching contextual understanding and the depth of engagement required. A snapshot of the projective deliberative techniques we call upon in deliberative groups include:

• Courtroom drama: Participants are put into teams and asked to use the preceding discussion, and their own opinions, to form a ‘case for’ or ‘case against’ the client, based on one or more concepts, service improvements etc. This technique can really hone understanding of topic areas and various interesting twists can also be added, such as asking teams to ‘defend the indefensible’ by arguing the case for concepts that they were initially critical of. Teams can be constructed to balance the views of respondents who are more opinionated and vociferous in their views.

• De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats: This technique is used to encourage participants to separate their thinking into (six) clear functions and roles. Each thinking role is identified with a colour-coded symbolic ‘thinking hat’. By mentally wearing and switching ’hats’, you can easily focus or redirect thoughts or the conversation. Typically, you would encourage participants to switch hats during the exercise with roles as follows: 

  • White hat: Concentrates only on facts.
  • Yellow hat: Conveys brightness and optimistic thinking, explores the positives.
  • Black hat: Plays devil’s advocate, considers what might go wrong and where the problems and risks may lie.
  • Red hat: Expresses feelings and emotions and shares fears, likes, dislikes, loves and hates.
  • Green hat: Symbolises creative thinking, suggesting the possibilities, alternatives and new ideas.
  • Blue hat: Essentially ‘the chair’ of the proceedings, used to manage the thinking process.
• Sentence completion: Participants are given an incomplete sentence to finish as they wish. Sentences are adapted and designed specifically to meet client objectives e.g. “When it comes to Client X and its environmental obligations, the one thing that I would like them to focus on is…”, “Client X would be really smart if….”

What are the outcomes of deliberative groups?

Through the adoption of well-crafted projective techniques, delivered by our research experts, our deliberative groups uncover what is most important to respondents on a deeper, more implicit level. 

By the end of the sessions, we arrive at an understanding of what participants would think under ‘good conditions’ for considering the topics under discussion as well as what they do think in their natural (uninformed) state (at the start of the session).

Elevating engagement through meaningful stimulus – the power of our Creative Services team

Conveying unfamiliar and complex ideas and products to participants in deliberative sessions, often for the first time, can be difficult and relies not only on the skills of the facilitator but how content is presented.

In addition to thorough projective and enabling techniques, our in-house Creative Services team can create powerful and engaging videos, infographics and information packs which can really bring topics to life. Head to our creative outputs gallery page to view examples of the team's creative outputs for a wide range of clients.