What Is A Two-Way Mirror, And Why Are They Used At Focus Groups?

If you have ever taken part in a very qualitative general market trends focus group or group discussion, your recruiter will have explained to you about any audio or video recording that goes on, to assist the researcher write their report afterwards. It's important that through the discussion the talk can flow and unfold naturally without having to be delayed or interrupted by note-taking or requesting repetition, which days recording and also live-streaming of studies very normal. You are needless to say protected all the time with the Market Research Society code of conduct within the UK and other alike bodies in other countries, and nowadays everyone is so much more at ease with the whole idea of video surveillance and recording, that a camera inside the corner of the bedroom rarely feels awkward or intrusive.
Many professional research facilities however have another feature you'll not get in the average lounge, which seems like a massive mirror, often filling one wall. It doesn't look that can match an ordinary mirror, that is certainly as it isn't one - we all know, it's one reflective surface, inside the research room, but from the opposite side it acts simply as being a window. Behind the glass is where the client sits to observe the research going on. The name 'two-way mirror' is in fact not really a good one, it'd make more sense to describe it as a one-way window instead, because that's the way it operates. If  browse this site  were on within the back room, you'd obtain them sitting there, they have to watch you inside the brightly lit studio sitting there within the dark.
The moderator leading the study group will obviously reference the mirror and let you know if there are people behind it - usually you'll find, if someone is paying to train on a viewing facility they'll wish to observe the groups directly. But section of the moderator's job is always to set every participant completely at their ease, and eventhough it might be challenging to imagine when you initially spot the big grey wall and glimpse your individual startled face reflected in it, you may invariably forget that it is there! Once you are swept up in the discussion and sharing your thinking inside a well-planned and lively group it'll just fade into the background.
Of course, you'll know using one level that this isn't just a bunch of friends chatting - it's actually a guided discussion meant to discover specific things from your thinking, and someone is paying for that, hence the mirror and camera and dainty trays of sandwiches. But when the researcher does their job you can push everything that awareness to at least one side and stay involved with addressing what's being discussed, safe in the knowledge that industry codes of ethics and conduct control who sees and knows what extremely securely - so your thinking might be shared as a whole safety. It's actually much less expensive intrusive than having a bunch of observers sat IN the bedroom, taking notes or raising eyebrows according to what gets said regarding product or brand!
Why do people still sit behind mirrors, these days of video and streaming technology? There's a range of reasons. Most researchers would say it's absolutely nothing to do with habit or what they've always done, and tell you that simply get nearer to the genuine atmosphere and insights in the space, when you're sitting a few feet far from it as opposed to watching on your screen in your own home. They know that being in the space itself could influence the discussion unduly, however they are keen to acquire as close to it as being they possibly can, and become able to choose whom to pay attention to at any time. Video is fantastic and getting better all the time, but nuances of mannerisms and facial expression can be difficult to capture, especially in the group, and different observers could have different priorities and notice different things. Qualitative research is often about getting as close as possible for the experience of the client, without changing what you really are attempting to observe... as well as the utilization of two-way or one-way glass in a very viewing facility is a great strategy for simulating that.