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Successful Focus Groups
Advancing the State of the Art

Edited by:

David L. Morgan - Portland State University, USA

Volume: 156

Other Titles in:
Evaluation | Focus Group Research | Sociological Research Methods

288 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

This is the first book to systematically address the issues, practice wisdom and problems in conducting focus groups. Written by an interdisciplinary group of scholars, this well-integrated collection of articles represents the state of the art in focus group applications. It covers the basic principles of when and how to use focus groups, the applicability of focus group interviews to survey research and other methods, general issues in the use of focus groups, the specific problems of focus groups with different populations or settings and an agenda for future development of the method.

Introduction

PART ONE: BASIC PRINCIPLES

David L Morgan and Richard A Krueger

When to Use Focus Groups and Why

James H Frey and Andrea Fontana

The Group Interview in Social Research

John Knodel

The Design and Analysis of Focus Group Studies

A Practical Approach

Terrance L Albrecht, Gerianne M Johnson and Joseph B Walther

Understanding Communication Processes in Focus Groups

Richard A Krueger

Quality Control in Focus Group Research

PART TWO: COMBINING WITH OTHER METHODS

Theodore D Fuller et al

Using Focus Groups to Adapt Survey Instruments to New Populations

Experience From a Developing Country

Kerth O'Brien

Improving Survey Questionnaires Through Focus Groups

Brent Wolff, John Knodel and Werasit Sittitrai

Focus Groups and Surveys as Complementary Research Methods

A Case Example

Benjamin F Crabtree et al

Selecting Individual or Group Interviews

PART THREE: CONDUCTING SELF-CONTAINED RESEARCH

Raymond V Padilla

Using Dialogical Methods in Group Interviews

Richard A Zeller

Focus Group Research on Sensitive Topics

Setting the Agenda Without Setting the Agenda

Robin L Jarrett

Focus Group Interviewing With Low-Income, Minority Populations

A Research Experience

Thomas Plaut, Suzanne Landis, and June Trevor

Focus Groups and Community Mobilization

A Case Study From Rural North Carolina

PART FOUR: CONCLUSIONS

David L Morgan

Future Directions for Focus Groups

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David L. Morgan

David L. Morgan is a professor emeritus in Department of Sociology at Portland State University. He is a sociological social psychologist, who is widely known for his work on focus groups, including his book, Focus Groups as Qualitative Research, and as coauthor of The Focus Group Kit. In addition, he has worked extensively on mixed methods, including a book for SAGE, Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Methods. Most recently, he has published Essentials of Dyadic Interviewing for Routledge, and A New Era in Focus Group Research, co-edited, with Rosaline Barbour, for Palgrave. More About Author

Sage Research Methods is a research methods tool created to help researchers, faculty and students with their research projects. Sage Research Methods links over 175,000 pages of Sage’s renowned book, journal and reference content with truly advanced search and discovery tools. Researchers can explore methods concepts to help them design research projects, understand particular methods or identify a new method, conduct their research, and write up their findings. Since Sage Research Methods focuses on methodology rather than disciplines, it can be used across the social sciences, health sciences, and more.

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