Presentation from the 2012 NAEPSDP conference

1. Using Online Focus Groups to
Inform Staff and Professional
Development
Sarah Baughman, Ph.D.
eXtension
Michael Lambur, Ph.D.
Virginia Cooperative Extension

2. 2
State & Local Value Enhancement Project
An eXtension initiative to promote the use of
eXtension at the state and local level with four
key strategies:
1.) Develop listening sessions to determine current needs
and use of eXtension and technology tools by Extension
professionals.
2.) Reach out to all institutions and offer to help/visit.
3.) Target key institutions for onsite and virtual visits.
4.) Create a multi-state work team to develop strategies for
State and Local Value Enhancement (SLVE) efforts.

3. 3
Why Online Focus Groups?
National scope of the project
Need to reach diverse audiences within CES
Promote and model use of technology
To experiment with new method

4. 4
Focus Group Recruiting
Participants were recruited through
Institutional Teams
Four groups –
• Administrators
• State Specialists/Faculty
• Local Educators
• Programming Assistants and Support
Staff

5. 5
Protocol
Emulate a traditional in person focus group
Mix of verbal questions, chat pods and a poll
1 hour sessions
6 questions
Designated moderator
Note taker
Additional support for discussions

6. 6
Questions
1. Please describe your key job
responsibilities (verbal response)
2. How and to what extent do you use
technology in your job? (type in chat pod)
3. How familiar are you with eXtension?
(poll with verbal follow up)

7. 7
Questions
4. How and to what extent have you used
eXtension in your work? (type or talk)
[eXtension is…]
5. Based on your current understanding of
eXtension and our explanation of the
opportunities it can provide, in what ways to
you think eXtension might help you enhance
your Extension work? (type)
6. What can we do to help you take full
advantage of eXtension? (verbal)

8. Question 1: Respondents answered verbally but could
also choose to type in the chat pod on the right

10. 10
Response
74 people participated
13 Institutions
8 total focus groups conducted

11. 11
Key Findings
Three broad categories of findings:
• General Findings
• Top Uses of eXtension
• Ways to use eXtension
Findings have driven the work of the SLVE
working group as it conducts its work

12. 12
Lessons Learned
• Preparation is key
• Extra staff critical to help
initiate/encourage discussion
• People more willing to speak than we
anticipated
• Chat pods were essentially transcripts…
but needed to read in context with the
recordings

13. 13
Using for staff and professional
development
• Effective way to gather information from
different locations
• Useful format for working groups or
conducting resesarch
• Staff development can be interactive
• Opportunities to bring in broader range of
expertise
• Inexpensive and effective

14. 14
Contact Information
Sarah Baughman
Cell: 540-315-0164
Office: 540-231-7142
@programeval
Gplus.to/SarahBaughman
Scoop it: Cooperative Extension Evaluation
Pinterest.com/sarahbaughman