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Developing Focus Group Research
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Developing Focus Group Research
Politics, Theory and Practice

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February 1999 | 240 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
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This book critically examines the potential of, and suggests ways forward in, harnessing a versatile and powerful method of research - focus groups. The book challenges some of the emerging orthodoxies and presents accessible, insightful and reflective discussions about the issues around focus group work.

The contributors, an impressive group of experienced researchers from a range of disciplines and traditions, discuss different ways of designing, conducting and analyzing focus group research. They examine sampling strategies; the implications of combining focus groups with other methods; accessing views of `minority' groups; their contribution to participatory or feminist research; use of software packages; discourse analysis; and the epistemological and political underpinnings of research.

Jenny Kitzinger and Rosaline S Barbour
Introduction
The Challenge and Promise of Focus Groups

 
Judith Green and Laura Hart
The Impact of Context on Data
Lynn Michell
Combining Focus Groups and Interviews
Telling How it Is; Telling How it Feels

 
Clare Farquhar with Rita Das
Are Focus Groups Suitable for `Sensitive' Topics?
Sue Wilkinson
How Useful Are Focus Groups in Feminist Research?
Rachel Baker and Rachel Hinton
Do Focus Groups Facilitate Meaningful Participation in Social Research?
Lai-Fong Chui and Deborah Knight
How Useful Are Focus Groups for Obtaining the Views of Minority Groups?
Rosaline S Barbour
Are Focus Groups an Appropriate Tool for Studying Organizational Change?
Claire Waterton and Brian Wynne
Can Focus Groups Access Community Views?
Jane Frankland and Michael Bloor
Some Issues Arising in the Systematic Analysis of Focus Group Materials
Jenny Kitzinger and Clare Farquhar
The Analytical Potential of `Sensitive Moments' in Focus Group Discussions
Greg Myers and Phil Macnaghten
Can Focus Groups Be Analyzed as Talk?
Sarah Cunningham-Burley, Anne Kerr and Stephen Pavis
Theorizing Subjects and Subject Matter in Focus Group Research
Rosaline S Barbour and Jenny Kitzinger
Afterword

`If you are considering focus group methodology in your own research this will provide you with a good starting point taking you through the epistemological and political issues of such research in process' - European Journal of Communication

This is a very good resource

Mrs Josephine D Morris
Interdiscipline, Winchester University
December 9, 2020
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A very thorough book on using focus groups. I would recommend it to any student who is planning to use focus froups as a primary research method. It not only give practical advice but also considers conceptual issues when implementing focus groups

Ms Irena Loveikaite
Department of Applied Arts, Waterford Institute of Technology
January 19, 2015
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An informative and engaging text for those using focus groups in their research.

Miss Andrea Lacey
HSC, Bournemouth University
January 24, 2014
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Solid, practical, evidence-based advice for anyone undertaking focus group research

Miss Christine Hibbert
Faculty of Health and Wellbeing, Sheffield Hallam University
June 28, 2013
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