Focus Group Research

Graham Walden is a full professor at The Ohio State University, and subject librarian for Communication, Germanic Languages and Literatures, and Government Documents. For the first twenty years of his academic career, his primary research interest in the broadest sense was the field of interviewing with a specific focus on survey literature. In the last seven years, his interest has shifted to the literature of focus groups publishing widely on the topic. In 2006 he received the American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), Marta Lange/CQ Press Award for distinguished contributions to bibliography and information service in law/political science.

• VOLUME ONEPART ONE: ORIENTATIONDefinitions, Characteristics and Overview Studies Focus Group Interview - Charles BaschAn Underutilized Research Technique for Improving Theory and Practice in Health Education Focus Groups - Peggy Yuhas Byers and James WilcoxA Qualitative Opportunity for ResearchersThe Method Is the Message - Michael Delli Carpini and Bruce WilliamsFocus Groups as a Method of Social, Psychological and Political InquiryFocus Groups - David Morgan and Margaret SpanishA New Tool for Qualitative ResearchFocus Groups - David MorganFocus Group Methodology - Sue WilkinsonA ReviewThe Validity and Reliability of Focus Groups as a Research Method in Adult Education - Nicoleta Chioncel et alTerminology and TypologyThe Group-Depth Interview - Alfred GoldmanThe Group Interview in Social Research - James Frey and Andrea FontanaA Rose by Any Other Name May Smell as Sweet but ′Group Discussion′ Is not Another Name for a ′Focus Group′ nor Should It Be - Clive BoddyHistorical ContextThe Group Interview - Emory BogardusThe Focused Interview - Robert Merton and Patricia KendallThe Focused Interview and Focus Groups - Robert MertonContinuities and DiscontinuitiesConducting Focus Group Sessions - Evelyn Folch-Lyon and John TrostMaking Sense of Focus Groups - Rosaline BarbourThe Secret Life of Focus Groups - Raymond LeeRobert Merton and the Diffusion of a Research MethodResearch Applications′It′s Good to Talk′ - Alan JohnsonThe Focus Group and the Sociological ImaginationFocus Groups - George Kamberelis and Greg DimitriadisStrategic Articulations of Pedagogy, Politics and InquiryStrengths and LimitationsThe Learning Curve - Ian Mansell et alThe Advantages and Disadvantages in the Use of Focus Groups as a Method of Data CollectionThe Focus Group Interview - Debbie HoRising to the Challenge in Qualitative Research Methodology Theoretical and Conceptual FrameworksFocus Groups and the Nature of Qualitative Marketing Research - Bobby CalderTheorizing Subjects and Subject Matter in Focus Group Research - Sarah Cunningham-Burley, Anne Kerr and Stephen PavisVOLUME TWOPART TWO: BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND LITERATURE REVIEWS′Best Practice′ in Focus Group Research - Tim FreemanMaking Sense of Different Views A Review of the Use and Potential of Focus Groups in Social Work Research - Donald LinhorstThe Analysis of Focus Groups in Published Research Articles - Geoffrey WigginsQualitative Sample Extensiveness in Health Education Research - Rachel Safman and Jeffery SobalGroup Interviews in Primary Care Research - Peter Twohig and Wayne PutnamAdvancing the State of the Art or Ritualized Research?Literature Review - Elizabeth Halcomb et alConsiderations in Undertaking Focus Group Research with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse GroupsPART THREE: GENERAL METHODOLOGYAssessing Educational Effectiveness - Linda Costigan LedermanThe Focus Group Interview as a Technique for Data CollectionCollecting and Analyzing Qualitative Data - Julius SimIssues Raised by the Focus GroupFocus Group Method and Methodology - Andrew Parker and Jonathan TritterCurrent Practice and Recent DebateFocus Groups and Methodological Reflections - Jonathan Woodring et alConscientious Flexibility in the FieldUsing Focus Groups to Facilitate Culturally Anchored Research - Diane Hughes and Kimberly DuMontMulticultural Issues in Qualitative Research - Jeffrey Nevid and Nelly Sta. MariaConducting Effective Focus Groups in the Context of Diversity - Janice DreachslinTheoretical Underpinnings and Practical ImplicationsPART FOUR: SPECIFIC METHODOLOGICAL ISSUESPlanningThe Design and Analysis of Focus Group Studies - John KnodelA Practical ApproachSampling and Recruiting ParticipantsPlanning and Recruiting the Sample for Focus Groups and In-Depth Interviews - Colin MacDougall and Elizabeth FudgeGroup Composition, Group Size and Number of GroupsCrossing Multidisciplinary Divides - Emma Clavering and Janice McLaughlinExploring Professional Hierarchies and Boundaries in Focus GroupsThe Use of Focus Groups for Idea Generation - Edward FernThe Effects of Group Size, Acquaintanceship and Moderator on Response Quantity and QualityHow Acquaintanceship and Analyst Can Influence Focus Group Results - James Nelson and Nancy FrontczakSmall Is Not too Small - Jean TonerReflections Concerning the Validity of Very Small Focus Groups (VSFGs)Question Design and Interview Schedule ConstructionAsking Elaborate Questions - Claudia Puchta and Jonathan PotterFocus Groups and the Management of SpontaneityModeratingManufacturing Individual Opinions - Claudia Puchta and Jonathan PotterMarket Research Focus Groups and the Discursive Psychology of EvaluationA Market of Opinions - Javier LezaunThe Political Epistemology of Focus GroupsUsing and Analyzing Focus Groups - Janet SmithsonLimitations and PossibilitiesInterviewing the Moderator - Janine Morgall Traulsen, Anna Birna Almarsdóttir and Ingunn BjornsdóttirAn Ancillary Method to Focus GroupsVOLUME THREEAnalyzing the DataGetting the Focus and the Group - Pamela Kidd and Mark ParshallEnhancing Analytical Rigor in Focus Group ResearchVideo Review - Marla Clayman et alAn Alternative to Coding Transcripts of Focus Groups Focus Groups in Feminist Research - Sue WilkinsonPower, Interaction and the Co-Construction of MeaningWhat about Focus Group Interaction Data? - Wendy Duggleby′It Was Fun… but We Don′t Usually Talk about These Things′ - Deborah WarrAnalyzing Sociable Interaction in Focus GroupsMaximizing Results with Focus Groups - Dianne Morrison-Beedy, Denise Côté-Arsenault and Nancy Fischbeck FeinsteinModerator and Analysis IssuesWho′s Talking - Lars-Christer Hydén and Paul B lowDrawing Conclusions from Focus Groups - Some Methodological ConsiderationsFocus Groups and Ethnography - Michael Agar and James MacDonaldJust Say No? The Use of Conversation Analysis in Developing a Feminist Perspective on Sexual Refusal - Celia Kitzinger and Hannah FrithReportingConsolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) - Allison Tong, Peter Sainsbury and Jonathan CraigA 32-Item Checklist for Interviews and Focus GroupsValidityFocus Group Research - Roxanne McDaniel and Carole Ann BachThe Question of Scientific Rigor Focus Groups in Psychological Assessment - Dawne Vogt, Daniel King and Lynda KingEnhancing Content Validity by Consulting Members of the Target PopulationAnalyzing Interactional Contexts in a Data-Sharing Focus Group - Jamie Murdoch, Fiona Poland and Charlotte SalterPART FIVE: GROUP INTERACTION AND DYNAMICSFocusing on Sex - Hannah FrithUsing Focus Groups in Sex ResearchDisplaying Opinions - Greg MyersTopics and Disagreement in Focus GroupsFocus Group Research and ′the Patient′s View′ - Pascale Lehoux, Blake Poland and Genevieve DaudelinA Conceptual Overview of the Self-Presentational Concerns and Response Tendencies of Focus Group Participants - David Wooten and Americus Reed IIThe Effects of Interaction on Consumers′ Attitudes in Focus Groups - Terry Bristol and Edward FernFocus Groups as Sites of Influential Interaction - Theodore Zorn et alBuilding Communicative Self-Efficacy and Effecting Attitudinal Change in Discussing Controversial Topics′From the Heart of My Bottom′ - Clare Wilkinson, Charlotte Rees and Lynn KnightNegotiating Humor in Focus Group DiscussionsThe Social Contexts of Focus Groups - Jocelyn HollanderThe Devil′s Advocate - Colin MacDougall and Frances BaumA Strategy to Avoid Groupthink and Stimulate Discussion in Focus GroupsThe Methodology of Focus Groups - Jenny KitzingerThe Importance of Interaction between Research ParticipantsVOLUME FOURPART SIX: TECHNOLOGICAL ALTERNATIVESTelephone Focus GroupsTelephone Focus Groups - Crystale Purvis Cooper, Cynthia Jorgensen and Tracie MerrittAn Emerging Method in Public Health ResearchOnline Focus GroupsOnline Focus Groups - Ted GaiserOnline Focus Groups - Donna Reid and Fraser ReidAn In-Depth Comparison of Computer-Mediated and Conventional Focus Group DiscussionsA Critical Comparison of Offline Focus Groups, Online Focus Groups and E-Delphi - Elisabeth Br ggen and Pieter WillemsResearching Online Populations - Kate Stewart and Matthew WilliamsThe Use of Online Focus Groups for Social ResearchToward a Theory of Technique for Online Focus Groups - Albino Claudio Bosio, Guendalina Graffigna and Edoardo LozzaUsing Message Boards to Conduct Online Focus Groups - David Deggs, Kenda Grover and Kit KacirekPART SEVEN: DISCUSSION ENHANCEMENT TECHNIQUESVignettesUna Mujer Trabaja Doble Aquí - Michele Easter et alVignette-Based Focus Groups on Stress and Work for Latina Blue-Collar Women in Eastern North CarolinaTowards an Understanding of British Public Attitudes Concerning Human Cloning - Richard Shepherd et alPlay-Acting and Focus Troupes - Steve Sato and Tony SalvadorTheater Techniques for Creating Quick, Intense, Immersive and Engaging Focus Group SessionsRole-PlayingThe Indirect Approach of Semi-Focused Groups - Frederic Bill and Lena OlaisonExpanding Focus Group Research through Role-PlayingThe Impact of Simulation on People Who Act as Simulated Patients - Lonneke Bokken, Jan van Dalen and Jan-Joost RethansA Focus Group StudyStorytellingWomen′s Stories - Clo Mingo, Carla Herman and Marla JasperseEthnic Variations in Women′s Attitudes and Experiences of Menopause, Hysterectomy and Hormone Replacement TherapySeeing the Person behind the Patient - Amanda Clarke, Elizabeth Jane Hanson and Helen RossEnhancing the Care of Older People Using a Biographical ApproachDrawing′It Was Fun… I Liked Drawing My Thoughts′ - Felice YuenUsing Drawings as a Part of the Focus Group Process with ChildrenRepeat ReceiptsRepeat Receipts - Claudia Puchta, Jonathan Potter and Stephan WolffA Device for Generating Visible Data in Market Research Focus GroupsPoetic TranscriptionNurturing Dialogic Hermeneutics and the Deliberative Capacities of Communities in Focus Groups - Melissa FreemanConcept BoardsConcept Evaluation in Focus Groups - Radan MartinecSemantic Fields and Evaluative StrategiesPART EIGHT: ETHICAL ISSUESThe Practical, Methodological and Ethical Dilemmas of Conducting Focus Groups with Vulnerable Clients - Sara OwenPART NINE: FUTURE DIRECTIONSFuture Directions for Focus Groups - David MorganThe Future of Focus Groups - Richard Krueger