Online focus groups are now a normal part of qualitative research. They save travel, reach people in many places and fit around busy lives. But a video call is not a viewing facility, and the same habits do not always work. This checklist covers what we have learned about running them well, including the part that clients care about most: watching without being seen.
Before the session
Choose the group size
Online, smaller groups work better than in a room. Four to six participants gives everyone time to speak and makes the grid easy to read. Eight is possible with an experienced moderator. Above that, people wait too long for their turn.
Plan the time
Sixty to ninety minutes is the limit for most online groups. Attention drops faster on a screen than in a room. If you have more to cover, run two shorter sessions.
Invite clearly
Participants need the date and time in their own time zone, the length, the topic and one clear button to join. A reminder about an hour before the start reduces no-shows. For many people, a WhatsApp message or text works better than email.
Bring in the right people
Most sessions need more than the moderator and the participants:
- an external moderator, if a freelancer runs the session
- a guest, such as someone from the client who will ask a question at the end
- observers, usually the client team, who watch without taking part
Each should get a personal link. Shared links make it hard to know who is in the call.
Test the technology
Open the call 15 minutes early. Check your camera, microphone, light and background. Have a phone number or message ready for participants who cannot get in.
The observation room
In a viewing facility, the client sits behind a one-way mirror. Online, the equivalent is an observation room: observers see and hear everything, but participants do not see them, and observers are not in the list of people.
This matters more than it seems. Participants speak differently when they see five extra faces with cameras off. A clean grid of participants and a moderator keeps the conversation natural.
Agree with observers how they will reach you. A separate observation room chat, visible only to moderators and observers, works well: observers send questions and notes, and the moderator checks it at natural breaks.
During the session
Open warmly
Start with names, a simple question everyone can answer, and the ground rules: one person at a time, no right or wrong answers, and that the session is recorded. Make sure everyone has seen and agreed to the recording.
Use the controls lightly
Online moderators have tools a room does not offer. Use them with care:
- Mute one person when there is background noise, and tell them why. They can unmute when they want to speak.
- Mute everyone at the start of a stimulus or a quiet exercise.
- Switch the participants' chat off if side conversations distract, or on for a quick written exercise.
- Remove someone only when necessary, for example someone who joined with the wrong link.
Draw people in by name
In a grid, quiet people are easy to miss. Ask them by name: "Anna, you have not said much about price. How does it look to you?"
Watch the observation room
Check the observers' chat at natural breaks. If a question is useful, ask it in your own words.
After the session
- Recording. A recording that shows everyone in a grid, with names and all voices, is the most useful for reports.
- Transcript. A transcript with times lets you jump to a moment and pull exact quotes.
- Chat and notes. Keep the session chat, the observation room messages and your own notes together with the recording.
- Analysis. Treat the group like any other source in the study. Code it alongside the diaries and interviews, not in a separate document.
How Zolensa handles online groups
On Zolensa, group discussions with 2 to 10 participants and one to one interviews run in the browser, with nothing to install. You can invite external moderators, guests and observers with personal links. Observers watch from the observation room and chat with the moderators privately. Moderators can mute one person or everyone, switch the chat off and remove people. The recording shows everyone with their names, and the transcript, chat and notes are kept with the session. See the online focus groups use case.
