Focus Groups and Qualitative Research
Full-service focus group recruiting, moderation, and facility hosting in Anchorage — and on-the-ground qualitative research anywhere in Alaska, from Ketchikan to Utqiaġvik.
Focus groups and qualitative research provide the depth that quantitative research can't — the why behind the what. They're how you uncover unprompted reactions, follow a thread of reasoning to its actual conclusion, and watch a group of real people work through an idea, message, product, or policy in real time. Hays Research Group has conducted hundreds of focus groups in Alaska over the past two decades — at our Anchorage facility, in regional hubs like Fairbanks and Juneau, and in remote communities most research firms have never set foot in. We provide the full range of qualitative services, from end-to-end project execution to recruitment-only support for clients who prefer to bring their own moderator.
“Hays Research Group has recruited and hosted a number of focus group projects that I moderated in Anchorage over the past few years. Their participant recruiting has yielded great participants and high show rates. Their qualitative research facility is my preferred location in Anchorage and provides all the amenities I need as a moderator. Hays Research is professional, flexible and works hard to make sure my focus groups will be successful.”
Regina Szyszkiewicz, Ten People Talking
Listening sessions and community forums
For projects that require gathering input from a community rather than a recruited sample, we facilitate listening sessions and community forums in formats appropriate to the audience and topic. These are particularly common in tribal consultation, public health, and government engagement work.
Ethnographic research
Observational research conducted in the participant's natural environment — home, workplace, community — captures behaviors and context that focus groups can't. We've conducted ethnographic studies across Alaska in subsistence, healthcare, retail, and consumer behavior contexts.
Mock juries and litigation research
Mock juries, focus group-based jury selection research, and witness preparation services for trial attorneys. See our Mock Jury Trials page for details.
What we do
Focus groups
Traditional in-person focus groups remain the gold standard for many qualitative research questions. We typically conduct groups of 8–12 participants lasting 90–120 minutes, with full audio and video recording, optional live observation rooms, and real-time client streaming. We can run a single group, a series of groups across multiple Alaska communities, or a hybrid program combining in-person and online formats.
Online focus groups and bulletin boards
Online focus groups and asynchronous online bulletin boards extend qualitative reach to participants who can't attend in person — particularly valuable when recruiting across Alaska's geography. We run synchronous video groups for real-time discussion and multi-day online bulletin boards when the topic benefits from reflection between sessions.
In-depth interviews
One-on-one interviews — whether by phone, video, or in person — are the right method when the topic is sensitive, the participant pool is small, or the depth of individual perspective matters more than group dynamics. Common applications include executive interviews, key informant interviews, healthcare provider research, and stakeholder consultation.
Intercept interviews
Short qualitative intercepts at events, locations, or in retail environments capture in-the-moment reactions and behaviors. We staff and manage intercept teams in Anchorage and statewide.
Fieldwork outside Anchorage
About half of Alaska's population lives outside Anchorage, and a meaningful share of that lives off the road system. We have conducted qualitative research in nearly every region of the state — Mat-Su, Kenai Peninsula, Fairbanks and Interior, Southeast (Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka), Kodiak, the Aleutians, Bristol Bay, the Y-K Delta, the Northwest Arctic, and the North Slope — and we have the logistical experience to make these projects work.
For off-road-system communities, that means coordinating travel and lodging, identifying or arranging suitable facility space (community halls, school libraries, tribal council buildings, hotel meeting rooms), navigating local protocols and relationships, recruiting through channels that actually work in small communities, and adapting recruitment incentives and project logistics to local norms. None of this is something a national firm can effectively subcontract on a one-off basis. It requires relationships, repetition, and respect for how research should and shouldn't be conducted in Alaska Native and rural communities.
Our process
Project scoping. We start with what you actually need to learn and work backwards from there. Methodology, group structure, geographic scope, recruitment criteria, and timeline are all decisions that should be made with the research question in mind, not before it.
Recruitment. We recruit from the Alaska Panel and from supplemental sources as needed. Every participant is screened against project-specific criteria, confirmed multiple times before the session, and reminded immediately prior. Recruitment incentives are calibrated to the population, the topic, the time commitment, and the community.
Discussion guide development. Whether you're bringing your own moderator or using ours, we collaborate on the discussion guide to ensure it's structured to produce the insights you actually need.
Moderation. Our Research Director Adam Hays moderates the majority of our qualitative work, with two decades of experience across virtually every topic and population in Alaska. We also work with a network of trusted external moderators when project requirements call for specific expertise.
Recording and observation. Every session is recorded. Clients can observe in person, in our observation room, or remotely via secure live stream.
Analysis and reporting. Post-session analysis ranges from straightforward topline summaries to detailed thematic analysis with verbatim quotes, video clip compilation, and strategic recommendations — scoped to what your team will actually use.
Common applications
Message testing - Watch real Alaskans react to messaging in real time, including reactions to specific words, phrases, framings, and visuals.
Concept and product testing - Get unfiltered feedback on new products, services, programs, or initiatives before launch.
Ad and media testing - Test creative — including video, audio, print, and digital — with dial-response data captured alongside discussion.
Brand research - Understand how your brand is actually perceived versus how you think it's perceived.
Political and ballot measure research - Test candidate messaging, ballot language, attack lines, and rebuttals before committing to a media plan.
Public input and stakeholder consultation - Gather authentic community input on policy, planning, or programmatic decisions.
Healthcare and public health research - Patient experience, behavioral health, health communication, and culturally appropriate health messaging.
Tribal consultation and Alaska Native research - Conducted with cultural appropriateness, local protocols, and respect for tribal sovereignty and traditional knowledge.
Recruitment-only services
Many of our focus group projects are full-service: we recruit, host, moderate, record, and analyze. But we also provide recruitment-only services for clients who prefer to bring their own moderator. In a recruitment-only engagement, we deliver qualified, screened, confirmed participants on schedule, and we provide the facility (in Anchorage) or arrange suitable space (statewide). You handle the moderation and analysis. This is a particularly common arrangement for national agencies, consultancies, and trial attorneys who have established moderators they prefer to work with but need credible Alaska recruitment infrastructure.
Why HRG?
Two decades of qualitative fieldwork in Alaska, including extensive experience in rural and Alaska Native communities.
Anchorage facility that national moderators consistently choose as their preferred Alaska venue.
In-house recruitment through the 10,000-member Alaska Panel and supplemental sources.
Dial-response technology for real-time quantitative measurement during qualitative discussions.
Methodological flexibility — we recommend the right qualitative method for the question, including methods other firms don't offer.
Cultural competence in Alaska Native and rural community research, built over decades of relationships and projects.
Our Anchorage facility
Our Anchorage focus group facility is purpose-built for qualitative research and is the preferred Alaska facility for most national moderators working in the state.
Main focus group room - Accommodates up to 20 participants. Configurable seating for groups, panels, or workshop-style sessions.
Secondary room - Smaller room for intimate groups or use as an overflow client observation room.
Client observation - One-way mirror plus live audio/video feed to a separate observation room. Remote observation via secure live stream for clients who can't travel to Anchorage.
Recording - Multi-camera HD video and high-quality audio recording on every project, with secure delivery of files post-session.
Dial response system - Real-time dial-response (audience response) technology lets you collect quantitative reaction data alongside qualitative discussion — measuring response to ads, messages, video clips, or candidate statements second by second.
Refreshments and amenities - Catering, beverages, and the small things that make participants comfortable enough to actually open up.
Recruitment and reminders. - All recruitment, screening, confirmation calls, and reminder protocols handled in-house. We aim for and consistently achieve high show rates.