Introduction to focus groups (online)

This course will be offered over two days (1/30 and 2/1 from 10am – 2pm US Eastern) via Zoom only. Attendance is required as the course will not be recorded.

Course Summary:

Focus groups are commonly used to capture rich information about attitudes and beliefs. This class will prepare prospective students to organize and moderate focus groups. Students will learn the most appropriate uses of focus groups, how to segment and recruit audiences, how to develop a moderator’s guide, and how to moderate focus groups. The class will be supplemented with real-life examples and hands-on exercises.

Instructor: Peyton Williams, MPH

Peyton Williams, MPH, is a research associate at RTI International in the Center for Communication Science. He has over 15 years’ experience as a focus group moderator, and is involved with all facets of qualitative data collection from moderator guide and screener generation, to conducting groups, and analyzing and reporting on findings. He has conducted focus groups with an array of audiences, such as physicians, youth, and vulnerable populations, and around a variety of topics including HIV, opioids, and nutrition. Clients he has worked for include the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and state health departments.

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