Module 13•Unit 3 of 6•11 min

Fieldwork & Focus Groups

Two of the most common research methods in innovation are fieldwork (going to where people live and work) and focus groups (bringing people together to discuss). Both are valuable - but they have very different strengths, and one is far more misused than the other.

Fieldwork: go to the real context

Fieldwork - contextual inquiry, ethnographic observation, home and site visits - is the gold standard for generative research. Watching people in their actual environment reveals the workarounds, frustrations, and realities they would never think to mention in an interview. What people do often differs sharply from what they say, and only fieldwork catches the gap.

Fieldwork done well

• Observe in the real context, doing the real task
• Watch behaviour first; ask "why" second
• Look for workarounds - they mark unmet needs
• Capture the environment, not just the person

Focus groups: useful, but handle with care

Focus groups gather a handful of people to react to ideas together. They can surface language, reactions, and a range of views quickly. But they carry real hazards for innovation research.

Groups are prone to groupthink and dominant voices - one confident participant can sway the room. People also struggle to predict their own future behaviour ("Yes, I would buy that!") and often say what sounds good socially. Famously, focus groups are poor at evaluating truly novel ideas, because people react against the unfamiliar. Use focus groups to explore language and reactions - not to decide whether to build something new.

The rule of thumb: for discovering real needs, prefer fieldwork and one-on-one interviews where the individual cannot hide behind the group. Reserve focus groups for exploring reactions, vocabulary, and range - and never mistake "the group liked it" for proof that a novel innovation will succeed.

Discuss

When your organization does research, does it go to the field and watch real behaviour, or mostly rely on rooms, surveys, and what people say? What might that be hiding?

Try this at work this week

Arrange one field visit this month: watch a real user do the real task in their real setting for an hour, saying as little as possible. Compare what you see to what they later tell you in words. The difference is the insight.

Sources

Beyer, H. & Holtzblatt, K., Contextual Design, 1998 (contextual inquiry).
Portigal, S., Interviewing Users, 2013.
Global Innovation Institute (GInI), Foundations of Innovation body of knowledge.

Types of Research

The Insights Plan