Qualitative Methodology

The qualitative findings are drawn from a series of focus groups undertaken during the weeks of December 1st and December 8th, 2003. A total of ten focus groups were conducted in Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton. Two groups were held in each centre, with the exception of Winnipeg, where four groups were conducted.

Participants were segmented into three distinct groups, new users, near non-users and far non-users, based on their experience using the Internet and their expectations for using the Internet in the coming year:

• New users are defined as those individuals who have started using the Internet (or started using it regularly) within the last 12 months.
• Near non-users are defined as individuals that have not used the Internet recently (within the past three months) but expect to start using the Internet, or use it more regularly, in the coming year.
• Far non-users are defined as individuals that have not used the Internet recently (within the last three months) and do no expect to start using the Internet, or use it more frequently, in the coming year.

All groups were conducted in English with the exception of the Montreal groups that were conducted in French. The groups lasted two hours and all were held in dedicated focus group facilities. Participants were offered a $50.00 cash incentive for participating in the research. The location, dates and specific composition of the focus groups are summarized in the following table.