How can I discover and attend focus groups that offer monetary compensation for participaton?

May 24, 2007 11:01 AM

How can I discover and attend focus groups that offer monetary compensation in exchange for participaton?
posted by davidriley to Grab Bag (11 answers total)

The gigs section of Craigslist is a good bet; search for focus. I also signed up with these people called Focus on Boston, but they don't call very often.
posted by phoenixy at 11:15 AM on May 24, 2007

Try searching for "market study" on Craig's List. I always find a lot doing that.
posted by jk252b at 11:15 AM on May 24, 2007

The folks who run focus groups generally actively screen for people who are motivated to get into focus groups, so you may be able to get a picture of the techniques and challenges involved by reading up from that angle. The term "focus groupies" comes to mind, but there are probably better jumping off points.

There are probably a lot of sites like this one that aggregate focus group/survey info, but I don't know how trustworthy they are, nor what the competition is like for snagging a slot.

Many companies will recruit through random cold calls (in-house or via an outsourced call center) in part to avoid what you're trying to accomplish.
posted by cortex at 11:18 AM on May 24, 2007

My experience has been that they always have trouble filling the seats in a study and will gladly screen you to see if you fit an ongoing study. Sometimes they even hint at how to prpoperly answer the screening questions.
If you're in the NY metro area i can recommend 2 testing sites .
posted by Fupped Duck at 11:23 AM on May 24, 2007

I used to do this a lot. A friend worked at a market research firm and put me on their candidate list. Depending on the firm's policies of course, I wasn't supposed to be called up more often than every 3mos or so, but since I knew someone on the inside he'd put me up for a group every 3-4 weeks. I wouldn't always be qualified and as such I didn't go on groups more than every couple of months. In light of all this, you would do well to sing up with multiple companies. Look in the yellow pages under "market research," call them up and ask them if they do focus groups. It's really that simple: they like people to want to participate and it makes it easier for them if you call up and opt in, otherwise they have to cold-call and find people at random.
posted by rhizome at 11:54 AM on May 24, 2007

Thirding Craigslist. A few years ago, I was looking for extra cash and did focus groups through ads on CL. Now, I am on the mailing list for about 3 or 4 different companies and get e-mails several times a month. I still do about 2 or 3 groups a year. Oh, and if you want to maximize your money, ask if they need a floater. If they are doing a one on one study, then they will often get someone who will stay for the duration just in case someone doesn't show up. Usually this pays more, and often you don't even have to do the study. I've been payed $150 to sit and read for 3 hours in a lounge with free coffee, sodas and snacks. The last time I "floated" they ended up using at the very end of the study so they gave me the floater pay and the study pay, $230 total.
posted by kimdog at 12:18 PM on May 24, 2007

Given your location, I bet you'd have plenty of luck getting paid to be a participant in studies with the psychology or linguistics departments of your esteemed neighborhood institutions. Although they'd likely be pretty boring, and might not pay quite as well as you're looking for...
posted by svenx at 12:20 PM on May 24, 2007

phoenixy had the right idea - tracking down a specific focus group facility and registering with them. most cities have at least 2 or 3 - i'd search for "focus group facility" or "market research facility" or something like that along with your city name. each facility will have some means for you to come into the office and fill out some paperwork - the more info you can give them, the better chance you'll have of getting a call. once you're in the database, it's just a matter of waiting to be a match.
posted by sacho at 1:40 PM on May 24, 2007

I'm a Cambridge, MA based researcher, and when we need participants, we either advertise ourselves on Craigslist, or we use a recruiter. You can search for area recruiters here. (Sorry, I couldn't get the results page link working.) I've used Focus on Boston, Fieldwork, and Schlesinger, and if you call them up, I'm sure they'd all be happy to add you to their databases. When we've used Craigslist, we've posted to the jobs etc. section, but now having read this thread, I'd consider gigs next time. Ours are not often focus groups -- usually one-on-one interviews, so 'focus' as a search term wouldn't work, but 'research' or 'study' would.
posted by daisyace at 5:23 PM on May 24, 2007

I emailed someone I know who works in the field, and he says: "Best way is to contact a local market research facility, normally listed in Yellow Pages. Not the same thing as a market research company; usually will have an ad offering recruiting or focus groups. Fieldwork and Schlesinger are good national chains with facilities in most big cities. Better source is MRA Blue Book or the Market Research Green Book, often available in the reference section of libraries. Just call or write and express an interest; they’ll normally send a questionnaire, and keep you on file. Good places will put a person on suspension for a period after they have participated, so they don’t turn into a professional respondent. And anyone caught lying is not only out, but likely to get name and contact details circulated among agencies in the area; even competitors cooperate that way."
posted by amro at 4:53 AM on May 25, 2007

The same person also sent me this list of Boston area market research facilities (sorry no time to make proper links):

Boston Field & Focus 508-872-1287 www.performanceplusboston.com
Copley Focus Centers 617-421-4444 www.copleyfocuscenters.com
Focus on Boston 781-246-0250 www.focusonboston.com
Focus Pointe 617-573-0808 www.focuspointe.net
Schlesinger 617-452-5500 www.schlesingerassociates.com
Cambridge Focus 617-494-0310 www.cambridgefocus.com
Bernett 617-746-2600 www.bernett.com

He says there are other facilities in Natick, Framingham and Waltham.
posted by amro at 9:01 AM on May 25, 2007