The New Age observer: The changing role of observers in online qualitative research

Customer Insight Managers at leading brands will be familiar with the frustration of watching helplessly from a back room while salient points are glossed over during focus groups. This scenario is particularly poignant should the respondents be specialist professionals who cost an arm and a leg to recruit.

Sure, you could slip notes under the door which doesn’t always work. What if the conversation has already moved on by the time your client has made the mad dash for the door? Allowing your observers/clients to be as close to the action as respondents themselves without disturbing the group dynamic has always been a tricky balancing act. VisionsLive Focus Groups 2.0 allow clients to be close, very close, to the action without the respondents even knowing it. Clients can send messages discreetly to the moderator and ask the moderator to probe specific questions that pertain to a particular respondent. Clients can do this from the comfort of their home or office.

Observers can go a step further, and request that an agreement poll be conducted to verify whether a respondent’s input is simply their opinion or truly representative of the group as a whole. Importantly, if a VisionsLive Focus Group is recorded, points where the observers made comments can be tagged for further analysis and played back at a later date. Observers can also chat with colleagues all around world during the LIVE session. The New Age Observer is still an observer, but one whose presence is now more effective than ever.