Estudios de Mercado I · Tema 3 · Focus groups (3.3)

Focus group studio

Estudios de Mercado I · Tema 3 — Focus group worksheet

What you do: run a short focus group on ONE topic, record it, get the recording transcribed by an AI chat, then apply thematic analysis to the transcript — themes, a map, and a decision for the client. Real primary data, captured and analysed in one session.

The topic — the student night out. Client: a new events / nightlife app that wants to win the student segment. Research question: how do students decide where to go out — the pull of the music, the venue, the people and the budget — and what makes a night feel “worth it”? The decision the client faces: what should the app offer to become students' default way to plan a night out?
Moderator's guide — a funnel, ~15–18 min (3.2 / 3.3). Keep it on topic without leading it; make it safe to disagree; don't let one voice dominate.
  1. Warm-up (2m): “Tell us about your last good night out.” (no wrong answers)
  2. Broad (4m): “Walk us through a typical Thursday/Friday — how do you decide where to go, and with whom?”
  3. Core (6m): “What makes a place worth staying at? How much does the music matter vs the people vs the price? Pick between two plans out loud.”
  4. Probe / ladder (3m): on the top thing someone names, ask “and why does that matter to you?” two or three times.
  5. Close (2m): “If someone built the perfect night-out app for students, what would it do?”
▸ Professor: organise the room — paste the class list, make the groups
Easiest way — copy the Blackboard roster:
  1. In Blackboard, open the course Roster (the class list).
  2. Select the whole list and copy it (Ctrl/Cmd+C).
  3. Paste it here as-is and press Make the groups — it keeps only the students and drops the professor, the roles and the links.
Didn't come out right? Just type one name per line instead and press Make the groups.

~20 students → at least 6 recorded groups in an hour: two rounds of three groups, reshuffled, so everyone takes part twice and roles rotate.

1 Paste the transcription of your focus group

Record on a phone, then get the transcript from an AI chat: upload the audio (or video) file and ask it to transcribe it. Paste the result below. The box collapses to a tidy line so the worksheet stays in view.

Get the transcript — upload the recording to Claude, Gemini or ChatGPT
  1. Open one of the chats below and start a new conversation.
  2. Attach the recording (mp4 · m4a · mp3 · wav) with the paperclip / + button.
  3. Copy the transcription prompt below, paste it in the same message and send.
  4. Copy the transcript it returns and paste it in the box below. Read it once and fix obvious mistakes (names, brands).
Geminibest with long audio / video ChatGPTchatgpt.com Claudeclaude.ai 

    
If a chat won't accept the file (too big, or audio not supported on your plan), try another one — Gemini takes the longest recordings. A long clip can take a minute or two.

  

  
  
  
  

  






  
2 Analyse it — apply the method

  
You are applying thematic analysis / grounded theory (3.7) to the transcript: build the meaning UP from what was said.

  

    The method you apply to the transcript:
    
    
      
  1. Open-code — tag recurring ideas in the participants' own words.
    2. 
      
  2. Categorise → themes — 3–5 themes, each with two real quotes.
    3. 
      
  3. Map & verify — draw the thematic map; cut any theme you can't evidence.
    4. 
      
  4. Group bias — note where one voice dominated or the group agreed too fast (groupthink).
    5. 
      
  5. Decide — what the client should DO.
    6. 
    

    The prompt below runs steps 1–4 as a first pass (AI = second coder). You judge, verify and decide.
  

  

    Claudedraws the map reliably
    ChatGPTchatgpt.com
    Geminigemini.google.com
  

  
Paste the prompt into a new chat. The answer must include a ```mermaid code block — that is the map. ChatGPT and Gemini sometimes skip it: if it's missing, reply “You did not include step 4. Output the thematic map now as a ```mermaid mindmap code block.”

  
  

  
  
  
  

  

  

  
  
  





  
3 Group bias, then the decision for the client

  
A focus group can be dominated by one voice or slide into agreement. Name that — then say what the client should DO. The decision is a marketing action, not a summary.

  
  
  
  





  
  
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One focus group = one PDF. Download before clearing. Anonymise participants, and remember: a focus group tells you what exists and in what language, never how common it is — that is a survey's job.