Turning Disagreement into Consensus

By Erica Derr McMillan

Imagine leading a focus group on a controversial topic with participants that are strongly divided.  As skilled, experienced qualitative researchers, we do not fear keeping peace within the groups but rather face the bigger challenge of how to work with group participants to tap into their emotions and intelligence to reveal the answers to our clients’ questions.  Moderators: what would you do if you had to lead groups on the following topics?  What techniques would you use to not only maintain order within the room, but also to yield actionable results? Consider the following focus group topics:

Stem Cell Research
Embryonic stem cells are thought by many scientists and researchers to hold potential cures for spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, hundreds of rare immune system and genetic disorders and much more.
Advocates: It is necessary to understand human development and the growth and treatment of diseases.  The proper moral and religious course of action is to save existing life with the results of this research.
Opponents: Destruction of a laboratory-fertilized human egg is murder of human life.  Life begins at conception, and that destruction of this pre-born life is morally unacceptable.  It is immoral to destroy a few-days-old human embryo, even to save or reduce suffering in existing human life.

Immigration
No one wants to have people live illegally in our country, but while some are lobbying in favor of a guest worker program, others want to seal the borders and send all illegals home.

Advocates: If it were not for these workers, landscaping and construction projects in urban areas would be curtailed.  This low cost source of hard working labor helps drive our economy with lower priced goods.

Opponents: There are Americans who could do these jobs and if someone is in our country illegally they should be “punished” not “rewarded.”

Sunday Liquor Sales
More than 30 states have abolished blue laws that prohibit the sale of liquor on Sundays.  Other states are currently considering the issue.
Advocates: The repeal of the prohibition expands consumer choice on the second-busiest shopping day of the week and benefits the state by raising tax revenue.
Opponents: The Sunday ban is a tradition that respects religious beliefs and those who want to consume liquor on Sundays can plan ahead and buy it on Saturday.

School Dress Code
Across the nation, school boards, teachers, parents and students have been involved in contentious discussions regarding school dress codes, especially the mandating of school uniforms.

Advocates: School uniforms allow more emphasis to be put on learning than on fashion and schools will be safer without the possibility of gang colors being worn.

Opponents: Uniforms are an unfair financial burden on some parents and they prevent students from being comfortable in clothing that allows them to express themselves.

Animal Testing
Every day, thousands of people are saved from diseases and death by medical drugs and treatments.  Most, if not all, of these were tested on animals before being used on humans.  This is a source of conflict between those who insist on its necessity and those who are calling for a ban on animal testing.

Advocates: It is cruel and inhumane to use animals in experiments.

Opponents: It is more inhumane to test new drugs on humans and even if it were possible, it would take much longer to see potential effects, because of the length of time humans live compared to laboratory animals.

Controversial topics in a focus group setting require a different approach than a moderator would traditionally use for advertisement reaction, concept or tagline testing or brand imagery groups.  Projective techniques such as mind mapping, brand personification or free word association will not work, unless used as an ice breaker, for groups gathered to discuss controversial topics.  Using traditional techniques will only scratch the surface of the truths that your clients expect to be exposed.

When discussing a controversial topic, focus group participants first and foremost must feel safe.  For core truths to be exposed, participants must know and feel that they are protected from being judged or belittled during the group.  They must have opportunity to express their opinions in a manner to which they feel comfortable, but must also have opportunity to reflect independently.
To effectively research issues of a sensitive/controversial social or political nature, Majority Opinion Research created Tipping Point Catalyst™.  This structured technique of quantitative and qualitative assessments is used to achieve consensus between opposing factions on an issue.

Tipping Point Catalyst™ utilizes a cyclic process to turn disagreement on an issue into a trigger for deeper analysis, understanding, and strategy to achieve a goal.  Through the course of this process, evidence or information that each side of an issue feels the other side may have overlooked is presented and its motivational value is ascertained in its ability to sway convictions.

Tipping Point Catalyst™:

• Assures that all panel members have an equal voice
• Takes advantage of each individual’s knowledge and experience
• Minimizes influence of other panel members
• Maximizes creative participation in group problem-solving
• Offers a strategy for achieving a goal

Implemented in a focus group setting, Tipping Point Catalyst™ is more structured than a typical focus group, but still takes advantage of the synergy created by group participants.

Tipping Point Catalyst™ includes four essential parts that together lead participants to a consensus on the overall issue at hand:

• Paired issue/reaction statements - keeps a clear focus on the issue and enables the moderator to channel the process into the overall objective
• Iteration - presents reaction statements over a number of rounds, enabling participants to reconsider their opinion
• Controlled feedback - assures that all opinions are considered by feeding back responses of the whole group
• Anonymity - (achieved through handheld polling devices) - gives participants the freedom to express their opinions on the issue without feeling pressure to be politically correct

The benefits of Tipping Point Catalyst™ are useful for dealing with issues such as:

You have undoubtedly undercounted other such highly controversial topics in your career and are more and more likely to face them going forward. Tipping Point Catalyst™ is a tool that will help you turn factional disagreement into mainstream consensus.

Erica Derr McMillan is Director of Qualitative Services for Majority Opinion Research and can be reached at erica@majorityopinionresearch.com