Advanced Focus is a company that values your privacy. It is the practice of Advanced Focus and the Marketing Research industry to protect the identity of research participants. Your identity, along with personal demographic information, will be held in strict confidence and will not used for reasons outside the scope of the research unless you voluntarily provide consent for such. Our projects are conducted strictly for research purposes and never involve solicitation or sales. To view our complete Privacy Policy, visit http://advancedfocus.com/privacy. Should you have any Privacy Policy questions or concerns, please contact us at [email protected], or call 212-217-2000 and ask to speak with Brad Solomon.

The Opinion and Marketing Research industry makes a fundamental and profound difference in the lives and well being of people throughout the world. Consumers, business owners/managers, and professionals benefit by having their interests, views and preferences voiced to businesses and organizations that develop new products and services or improve existing ones.

A focus group is a research method similar to an interactive and lively round-table discussion. They are usually conducted with a small number of people who have similar interests. A leader directs the discussion to explore a variety of issues related to the topic being researched. Focus groups are usually held at special facilities located across the country that are designed to accommodate the unique requirements of marketing research.

Companies that specialize in focus group research maintain databases of people in their community who are interested in participating in focus groups or other marketing research studies. Once a person becomes a database member, he/she is contacted periodically and interviewed to determine whether or not he/she meets the criteria required for a particular study. If you are interested in participating in research studies, you can follow one of the links below to sign up.

Problems rarely occur when dealing with an established marketing research company as these companies rely on the goodwill of their community to attract people like you to participate in their studies. Check the MRA member listing, or with your local better business bureau or chamber of commerce. Established marketing research companies also have a web site that describes their company, how many years in business, etc. Beware of any company that ask for money. This is not a legitimate practice in the marketing research industry. Legitimate marketing research companies conducting Focus Groups pay you! Unscrupulous companies often charge a fee to provide you with an out-of-date list of companies – and many do not even conduct focus group research!

Focus group companies routinely pay people for participating in focus groups and sharing their opinions. The amount varies depending on the market, study topic and length of the session. Always answer questions truthfully. To ensure that participants meet the study criteria, focus group companies routinely ask to see identification and verify the information given during the initial screening interview. If a person does not qualify to participate in the study, the focus group company and/or research sponsor are NOT obliged to compensate him/her.

Industry guidelines dictate that consumers should participate in no more than one focus group every six months. Focus group companies keep track of how frequently people participate in focus groups. If asked, you should be truthful about your participation. People who abuse participation guidelines are flagged to not be used in future research.

Yes, all members of your household may participate in research. Participation is tracked by the individual.

…please contact our database department at [email protected].

…please ask for the database department when calling.