Dear Statistical Consulting Section members,
On behalf of the Statistical Consulting Section officers - I am inviting volunteers from the section to help us plan and conduct one or possibly more Focus Groups. The focus group purpose is to obtain ----direct and more detailed section member input--- into the planning and organizing of upcoming Consulting Section activities. These activities are intended for the benefit of section members. Direct detailed input from section members is critical to both organizing the Focus group and to planning and organizing future section activities that provides the maximum value and benefit to section members. And after completion, the Focus group findings will be reported to the section members. And we are planning to conduct one or possibly more focus groups , before December 31, 2023.
Please note, by a complete coincidence, the Nova Collective, hired by the ASA Board of Directors for the DEI (diversity , equity and inclusion) initiatives will also be conducting focus groups to obtain direct input from ASA members. Our section focus groups are entirely different and have no connection of any kind with those of the Nova Collective.
For those who may be unfamiliar with focus groups, they are a frequently used tool for eliciting more detail than may be available from surveys. The section has implemented surveys in the past. Focus groups are a, valid, reliable, useful and commonly used tool in many industries. For example, one of my specialties, is "Patient Reported Outcomes" (PRO"s) as defined in the 2009 Patient Reported Outcome guidance. The guidance provides a sort of "road map" for developing PRO"S that are to be used as primary endpoints in Phase III clinical trials, and later FDA approval and marketing authorization. The 2009 Guidance (under "item generation") specifically refers to an option for PRO developers to use focus groups for PRO development. (A side point, I currently have a manuscript under review where I propose methods for determining "sample size" for that item generation section of the FDA guidance). The CENSUS Bureau has conducted focus groups, google for "2020 Census Barriers, Attitudes, and Motivators Study (CBAMS) Focus Groups" descriptions.
The section member volunteer(s) will help the section officers develop questions for the focus group session. And if interested, participate in planning and conducting the focus group and the interpretation of focus group findings. Also , assisting in organizing the Consulting Section Focus Group(s) will be Our newest Section officer for Social media, Sarah Kalicin. Sarah has organized and worked with focus groups while at Intel .
Section members interested in volunteering and for more details Please contact me through ASA community email or at my business email
chris.barker@barkerstats.com------------------------------
Chris Barker, Ph.D.
2023 Chair Statistical Consulting Section
Consultant and
Adjunct Associate Professor of Biostatistics
www.barkerstats.com---
"In composition you have all the time you want to decide what to say in 15 seconds, in improvisation you have 15 seconds."
-Steve Lacy
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