TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Hector Lanz: How do focus groups work?

Unscramble the Blue Letters

Why do we buy certain products or choose certain brands? This is the sort of quoteisn advertisers have always asked, and there are no easy answers. However, there is a hnady tool that hleps companies explore this and similar questions, and it's called the focus group. Until the 1940s, market research was often quantitative using things like sales figures and customer plols to track consumption. But this changed during World War II. Sociologists Robert Merton and Paul Lazarsfeld set out to learn how unneceteepdrd exposure to wartime pnagrdapoa was affecting the pbulic. Instead of piollng large numbers of people with straightforward questions and quantifiable answers, the rhraesreecs conducted in-person interviews, sometimes with small groups, engaging them in more open discussions. Later, this moehtd was picked up by the advertising industry with the help of counsttnlas, like Austrian-born psychologist Ernest Dichter, who first coined the term focus group. This new technique was a type of qualitative research focused on the nature of people's preferences and thoughts. It couldn't tell marketers what percentage of ppoele buy a certain product or brand, but it could tell them more about the people who do, their raoisneng for doing so, and even the unconscious motivations behind those reasons. Rather than pdniovrig definite conclusions for business and sales, focus groups would be used for exploratory rresaceh, generating new ideas for putrodcs and marketing based on deeper understanding of consumer hbatis. For example, early focus groups found that contrary to popular opinion at the time, wives often had more influence than their husbands when choosing which car to buy, so Chrysler shifted gears by marketing cars directly to women. And Dr. Dichter himself cnctudeod focus groups for Mattel to learn what girls wanted in a doll. The ruelst was the original Barbie doll. So how does a focus group work? First, companies recruit between six and ten participants according to specific cieirtra that meet their research objectives. They could be mothers of ceilrhdn between five and seven, or teenagers planning to buy a new phone in the next three mhnots. This is often done through professional reeirutcrs who manage lstis of people who've agreed to participate in focus groups for pnymaet or other rewards. During a session, participants are asked to respond to various prompts from the group moraotder, like sharing their oiiponns on a certain product, or their emotional reactions to an advertisement. They may even be asked to do seemingly unrelated tskas, like imagining brands as animals in a zoo. The idea is that this can reveal useful information about the participant's feelings that tadontriial questions might not get to. Beyond these basics, many vaiotinars are possible. A focus group may have two or more moderators perhaps taking opposite sdies on a question, or a researcher might be hidden in the focus group unknown to other participants to see how their answers can be influenced. And the whole process may also be observed by researchers through a one-way mirror. But although they can provide valuable insight, focus groups do have their limitations, and one of the main ones is that the simple act of observing something can change it. This piinrlpce is called observer interference. The arnsews participants give are likely to be aefcfetd by the presence of the researchers, social pressure from the rest of the group, or simply knowing that they're taking part in a focus group. And because researchers often use a samll sample size in a specific setting, it's hard to generalize their results. The findings that researchers do reach from fuocs groups are often tested through experiments and data gathering. Those put nmerubs on questions like how many potential ctusmroes there are and what pirce they'd be willing to pay. This part of the process changes as technology evolves. But focus groups have remained largely the same for decades. Perhaps when it comes to the big, important questions, there's no substitute for people gienluney iracttienng with each other.

Open Cloze

Why do we buy certain products or choose certain brands? This is the sort of ________ advertisers have always asked, and there are no easy answers. However, there is a _____ tool that _____ companies explore this and similar questions, and it's called the focus group. Until the 1940s, market research was often quantitative using things like sales figures and customer _____ to track consumption. But this changed during World War II. Sociologists Robert Merton and Paul Lazarsfeld set out to learn how _____________ exposure to wartime __________ was affecting the ______. Instead of _______ large numbers of people with straightforward questions and quantifiable answers, the ___________ conducted in-person interviews, sometimes with small groups, engaging them in more open discussions. Later, this ______ was picked up by the advertising industry with the help of ___________, like Austrian-born psychologist Ernest Dichter, who first coined the term focus group. This new technique was a type of qualitative research focused on the nature of people's preferences and thoughts. It couldn't tell marketers what percentage of ______ buy a certain product or brand, but it could tell them more about the people who do, their _________ for doing so, and even the unconscious motivations behind those reasons. Rather than _________ definite conclusions for business and sales, focus groups would be used for exploratory ________, generating new ideas for ________ and marketing based on deeper understanding of consumer ______. For example, early focus groups found that contrary to popular opinion at the time, wives often had more influence than their husbands when choosing which car to buy, so Chrysler shifted gears by marketing cars directly to women. And Dr. Dichter himself _________ focus groups for Mattel to learn what girls wanted in a doll. The ______ was the original Barbie doll. So how does a focus group work? First, companies recruit between six and ten participants according to specific ________ that meet their research objectives. They could be mothers of ________ between five and seven, or teenagers planning to buy a new phone in the next three ______. This is often done through professional __________ who manage _____ of people who've agreed to participate in focus groups for _______ or other rewards. During a session, participants are asked to respond to various prompts from the group _________, like sharing their ________ on a certain product, or their emotional reactions to an advertisement. They may even be asked to do seemingly unrelated _____, like imagining brands as animals in a zoo. The idea is that this can reveal useful information about the participant's feelings that ___________ questions might not get to. Beyond these basics, many __________ are possible. A focus group may have two or more moderators perhaps taking opposite _____ on a question, or a researcher might be hidden in the focus group unknown to other participants to see how their answers can be influenced. And the whole process may also be observed by researchers through a one-way mirror. But although they can provide valuable insight, focus groups do have their limitations, and one of the main ones is that the simple act of observing something can change it. This _________ is called observer interference. The _______ participants give are likely to be ________ by the presence of the researchers, social pressure from the rest of the group, or simply knowing that they're taking part in a focus group. And because researchers often use a _____ sample size in a specific setting, it's hard to generalize their results. The findings that researchers do reach from _____ groups are often tested through experiments and data gathering. Those put _______ on questions like how many potential _________ there are and what _____ they'd be willing to pay. This part of the process changes as technology evolves. But focus groups have remained largely the same for decades. Perhaps when it comes to the big, important questions, there's no substitute for people _________ ___________ with each other.

Solution

tasks
people
polling
opinions
focus
criteria
numbers
children
traditional
payment
price
research
researchers
habits
genuinely
affected
principle
public
method
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result
polls
small
recruiters
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months
customers
helps
moderator
question
unprecedented
reasoning
consultants
handy
propaganda
lists
providing
interacting

Original Text

Why do we buy certain products or choose certain brands? This is the sort of question advertisers have always asked, and there are no easy answers. However, there is a handy tool that helps companies explore this and similar questions, and it's called the focus group. Until the 1940s, market research was often quantitative using things like sales figures and customer polls to track consumption. But this changed during World War II. Sociologists Robert Merton and Paul Lazarsfeld set out to learn how unprecedented exposure to wartime propaganda was affecting the public. Instead of polling large numbers of people with straightforward questions and quantifiable answers, the researchers conducted in-person interviews, sometimes with small groups, engaging them in more open discussions. Later, this method was picked up by the advertising industry with the help of consultants, like Austrian-born psychologist Ernest Dichter, who first coined the term focus group. This new technique was a type of qualitative research focused on the nature of people's preferences and thoughts. It couldn't tell marketers what percentage of people buy a certain product or brand, but it could tell them more about the people who do, their reasoning for doing so, and even the unconscious motivations behind those reasons. Rather than providing definite conclusions for business and sales, focus groups would be used for exploratory research, generating new ideas for products and marketing based on deeper understanding of consumer habits. For example, early focus groups found that contrary to popular opinion at the time, wives often had more influence than their husbands when choosing which car to buy, so Chrysler shifted gears by marketing cars directly to women. And Dr. Dichter himself conducted focus groups for Mattel to learn what girls wanted in a doll. The result was the original Barbie doll. So how does a focus group work? First, companies recruit between six and ten participants according to specific criteria that meet their research objectives. They could be mothers of children between five and seven, or teenagers planning to buy a new phone in the next three months. This is often done through professional recruiters who manage lists of people who've agreed to participate in focus groups for payment or other rewards. During a session, participants are asked to respond to various prompts from the group moderator, like sharing their opinions on a certain product, or their emotional reactions to an advertisement. They may even be asked to do seemingly unrelated tasks, like imagining brands as animals in a zoo. The idea is that this can reveal useful information about the participant's feelings that traditional questions might not get to. Beyond these basics, many variations are possible. A focus group may have two or more moderators perhaps taking opposite sides on a question, or a researcher might be hidden in the focus group unknown to other participants to see how their answers can be influenced. And the whole process may also be observed by researchers through a one-way mirror. But although they can provide valuable insight, focus groups do have their limitations, and one of the main ones is that the simple act of observing something can change it. This principle is called observer interference. The answers participants give are likely to be affected by the presence of the researchers, social pressure from the rest of the group, or simply knowing that they're taking part in a focus group. And because researchers often use a small sample size in a specific setting, it's hard to generalize their results. The findings that researchers do reach from focus groups are often tested through experiments and data gathering. Those put numbers on questions like how many potential customers there are and what price they'd be willing to pay. This part of the process changes as technology evolves. But focus groups have remained largely the same for decades. Perhaps when it comes to the big, important questions, there's no substitute for people genuinely interacting with each other.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
focus groups	7
focus group	6

Important Words

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