> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://greatquestion.co/support/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Focus Groups

> Run moderated sessions with multiple participants to explore shared perspectives.

Focus Groups are moderated research sessions with multiple participants, designed to explore opinions and understand shared perspectives. They let participants react to and build on each other's experiences in a single live session.

<Warning>
  Focus Groups are an Enterprise-only study type and must be enabled by request. Recordings from focus group sessions aren't indexed into the study Repository's search or tags the way 1:1 recordings are — AI-generated summaries, chapters, and highlights still work normally.
</Warning>

## Why It Matters

Focus groups surface collaborative learning from real-time participant interactions, let you moderate multiple voices in a single session, and centralize the coordination of invites, scheduling, and consent. They work well for concept validation, feature feedback, market exploration, message testing, and customer advisory sessions.

## How Focus Groups Work

Unlike 1:1 interviews, a focus group study doesn't use open moderator availability — it's built around a set of **fixed session slots** you create ahead of time, each with its own date, time, and a maximum number of participants. Participants book into an existing slot rather than picking any open time, and once a slot reaches its participant cap, it closes automatically.

> **Note:** Focus groups don't support observers or livestream — this combination is blocked at the setup level, not just hidden. If you need observers watching live, use a Standard 1:1, Collective, or Round Robin interview instead. In-person location is also not available for focus groups; sessions must be hosted over video.

> **Note:** Focus groups can't be combined with Collective or Round Robin moderation, or with Continuous scheduling — these are separate, mutually exclusive study setups today.

## Common Use Cases

| Use Case                   | Description                                                                  |
| -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Concept validation         | Get group reactions to a new idea before committing further investment.      |
| Feature feedback           | Discuss a feature with several users at once and see where opinions diverge. |
| Market exploration         | Understand shared language and priorities across a segment.                  |
| Message testing            | See how different framings land with a group in real time.                   |
| Customer advisory sessions | Bring recurring participants together for ongoing dialogue.                  |

## Set Up a Focus Group Study

1. **Create your study.** Navigate to **Studies**, select **Focus groups** ("Schedule group calls with participants."), and add your core details — title, research goal, incentives, screener, and consent form.
2. **Set up your screener (optional).** Add multiple-choice, text, or scale questions with logic rules.
3. **Configure external recruitment (optional).** Set up Great Question's external recruitment marketplace integration if needed.
4. **Set your group size.** Under **Plan**, set **how many participants you want in each focus group** — this is your per-session cap; Great Question closes a session to new bookings once it's reached.
5. **Set up your sessions.** Add one or more dated, timed session slots under **Calendar**. These are the specific times participants can book into — there's no open availability window like a 1:1 study has.
6. **Review and publish.** Verify accuracy and create your study.

## The Participant and Moderator Experience

Every participant in a session — along with the moderator — joins the same shared video room; there's no per-participant room. Participants book into a session individually, and consent is captured per participant, not as a single group consent step. Since your recording will include multiple people, consider adding language to your consent form that makes clear a participant will be recorded alongside others in the same session.

Session recordings and transcripts work the same way as a 1:1 interview, with one added benefit: transcript exports label speakers as **Moderator**, **Participant 1**, **Participant 2**, and so on, rather than leaving them unlabeled.

## Manage Your Study After Publishing

**Setup** covers **Plan**, **Screener**, **Calendar**, **Incentives**, **Emails**, **Pages**, **Automations**, and **Notifications**.

**Execution** covers **Participants**, **Recruitment Requests**, **Stats**, **Screener Responses**, and the **Interview Guide**.

> **Note:** Incentives are paid per participant, not pooled or split across the group — if someone doesn't show up, the rest of the group's incentives and statuses aren't affected. Attendance is also tracked individually, so a session with partial attendance still runs and each participant's status reflects only their own outcome.

## Best Practices

**Keep focus groups to 4–8 participants** for manageable discussions.

**Give clear arrival instructions.** Since everyone joins the same room at once, remind participants of the exact time and what to expect walking in.

**Set consent expectations up front.** Make sure your consent form language accounts for a shared recording with multiple participants, since Great Question doesn't add this disclosure automatically.

**Add extra session slots if you expect no-shows.** Since slots have a fixed cap and don't automatically backfill, a session that loses attendees stays smaller rather than pulling in a replacement.

**Reuse screeners or interview guides from templates** to speed up setup, and align your group-size cap with your realistic recruitment capacity.

## Troubleshooting

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr><th>Issue</th><th>What's Happening</th><th>How to Fix</th></tr>
  </thead>

  <tbody>
    <tr><td>Focus Groups option isn't available</td><td>Focus Groups is an Enterprise-only feature that must be enabled for your account.</td><td>Contact support to request access.</td></tr>
    <tr><td>A session won't accept more bookings</td><td>That session has reached its participant cap.</td><td>Add another session slot if you need more capacity, or increase the group-size setting under Plan (only applies to future sessions).</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Can't find an observer or livestream option</td><td>Focus groups don't support observers or livestream at all.</td><td>Use a Standard 1:1, Collective, or Round Robin interview instead if live observation is required.</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Recording isn't showing up when I search the Repository</td><td>Focus group recordings aren't indexed into the Repository's search or tags the way 1:1 recordings are — AI summaries, chapters, and highlights still generate normally.</td><td>Access the recording directly from the session rather than searching for it in the Repository.</td></tr>
    <tr><td>A participant got the wrong join link</td><td>This can happen due to how join links are shared across a group session — contact support if it recurs.</td><td>Manually resend the correct session join link to the affected participant.</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Low participant enrollment</td><td>Screener criteria may be too narrow, or your group-size cap doesn't match your recruitment capacity.</td><td>Review your screener logic and adjust your group-size setting or add more session slots.</td></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

***

**Still need help?** Contact us at [support@greatquestion.co](mailto:support@greatquestion.co) — median response time is 19 minutes during [support hours](https://greatquestion.co/features/about-our-support-team).