As the core of the group discussion, the role of the moderator is particularly important. An excellent moderator can turn stone into gold, while an unqualified moderator can turn a forum into a chat session.
The moderator leads the discussion. The main purpose is to select a group of people from the appropriate target market and obtain opinions by listening to them talk about topics of interest to the researcher. The value of this method is that free group discussions can often lead to unexpected findings, and it is the most important qualitative research method.
Form and content
The number of people in a symposium is generally 6-10, and the venue is usually held in a conference room. The moderator and the interviewee discuss via chat, and the content of the discussion depends on the topic of the case. Typically, forums last approximately 30 minutes to two hours.
A symposium is a round-table discussion in which 6-10 people usually gather together to conduct in-depth discussions on a certain topic under the guidance of a moderator. The purpose of a focus group study is to learn and understand how people feel about the topic and the reasons behind this perception. A panel discussion is different from a question-and-answer interview.
Because it is a multi-person discussion, under the auspices of an experienced moderator, there is interaction between the respondents, and one person's reaction will become a stimulus to others. This interaction yields more information than the same number of people could provide when speaking alone.