A Typical Focus Group Timeline Week One Client requests a proposal from the research consultant. Proposal is developed and provided to the client. This includes a summary of the recommended methodology, the timing of the research, the costs and implementation details such as the location where the study will occur, the recruitment specifications and the general topics that would be covered in the study. While focus groups can be executed relatively quickly, two to three weeks lead time is usually required to design the study, reserve the facility and recruit qualified respondents. Week Two Upon client approval to execute the project... A respondent recruitment screening questionnaire is developed and provided to the client for concurrence. This provides the information used to find the types of people who are desired in the research. The moderator drafts a discussion guide. Often, this will requires a meeting or phone conversation with the client. This guide outlines all topics to be covered in the research and the timing associated with each. Three to four drafts of the discussion guide are not unusual before a discussion outline is finalized. A pre-discussion questionnaire is also prepared. The purpose of the pre-discussion questionnaire is to collect quantifiable data and document respondent opinions prior to the group session. We obtain the respondent's individual opininion before they know the group consensus. It also serves to "warm up" the respondents to the discussion. They begin to think about the issues that will be discussed. Respondent recruitment begins. Depending upon the respondent qualifications, this recruitment process will usually take a week to ten days to complete. Presentation materials (stimuli) are prepared. Weeks Three and Four The data collection phase of the research is conducted. In almost every situation a minimum of two or three focus groups are conducted. Depending upon the respondent qualifications, the focus group sessions are usually held at 6:30 pm and last for approximately 2 hours. It is not unusual for respondents to become engaged in the subject matter. Most sessions are complete by 9:00 pm. Some respondents (e.g. homemakers), depending upon the qualifications, may be available during the day. Week Five A Topline report is published usually within a week of the final group session. Preliminary conclusions are usually drawn after each session. Subsequent sessions serve to confirm the reliability of data from earlier sessions. The moderator's preliminary conclusions are presented. Week Six A Final Report is prepared and presented to the client. The report contains the summary of the key findings from the research, tabulation of the quantitative data collected in the pre-discussion questionnaire, as well as the moderator's conclusions and recommendations.