Struggling with overloaded discussion guides in qualitative research? In this episode of Conversations for Research Rockstars, Kathryn Korostoff shares practical ways to handle clients, colleagues, and stakeholders who want to pack too much into a focus group or IDI guide.

Learn how to:

• Keep discussion guides aligned with project objectives
• Push back—professionally—when feedback risks data quality
• Use strategies like pre-surveys, split guides, and online exercises to balance content

Whether you’re running focus groups or in-depth interviews, these tips will help protect data quality and keep your research process rock solid.

Have you ever seen a Franken-guide? (Skip to 2:22)

For adding interactivity to online focus groups and webcam IDIs, we can either use qualitative research platforms with built-in interactive features, or use Zoom (and similar video platforms) with integrated apps that add interactivity.

Qualitative research platforms with built-in interactivity features:

Recollective – Supports collage, drag-and-drop image tasks, ranking/sorting, polls. 👉 https://www.recollective.com/

Aha! Insights – Supports projective tools, word games, drawing/mark-up, polls. 👉 https://www.ahaonlineresearch.com/

Discuss.io – Supports polls, drawing/mark-up, pre-work, ranking/sorting. 👉 https://www.discuss.io/platform/

If you are doing online focus groups or IDIs using Zoom, check out these tools:

Zoom Polling & Quizzes (built-in) – Run quick polls or quizzes. 👉 https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0066150

Zoom Whiteboard – For image annotation. 👉 https://developers.zoom.us/docs/whiteboard/

Mural – A visual whiteboard for collages, clustering, sticky notes, and interactive brainstorming during sessions. 👉 https://www.mural.co/

Slido (Zoom App) – Add polls and word clouds inside Zoom. 👉 https://www.slido.com/zoom-polling

Poll Everywhere (Zoom App) – Collect poll and open-ended responses. 👉 https://www.polleverywhere.com/app/zoom

Vevox (Zoom Integration) – Anonymous polling, word clouds, polls integrated into Zoom. 👉 https://www.vevox.com/zoom-integration

Note: Some of these tools are easier to prepare in advance, so during the session you just “launch.” That helps avoid tech fumbling mid-discussion.

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