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Focus Groups
A Practical Guide for Applied Research

Fifth Edition


August 2014 | 280 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

This updated edition of Krueger and Casey’s bestselling, practical book walks readers step by step through the “how-tos” of conducting focus group research. Using an engaging, straightforward writing style, the authors draw on their many years of hands-on experience in the field to cut through theory and offer practical guidance on every facet of the focus group process, including tips for avoiding problems and pitfalls. The Fifth Edition reflects the most recent research and technological innovations and includes new coverage on planning with analysis in mind; creating conversational questions that have the potential for producing unique and valuable insights; the art of hosting a focus group; common sense thinking about reporting; more efficient strategies for planning the study; and emerging areas of focus group research, such as conducting cross-cultural, international, and Internet focus groups.


 
PREFACE
 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 
1. Overview of Focus Groups
 
2. Planning The Focus Group Study
 
3. Developing a Questioning Route
 
4. Participants in a Focus Group
 
5. Moderating Skills
 
6. Analyzing Focus Group Results
 
7. Reporting
 
8. Focus Group Research
 
9. Focus Group Interviewing with Young People
 
10. International and Cross-Cultural Focus Group Interviewing
 
11. Telephone and Internet Focus Group Interviewing
 
12. Focus Group Interviewing Within the Organization
 
13. Modifications of Focus Groups
 
14. Answering Questions About the Quality of Focus Group Research

“Krueger and Casey’s book does a magnificent job of incorporating both theoretical and practical approaches to the study of focus groups. It is the only hands-on book which explores the process of focus group research.”

Theresa Carilli, Purdue University Calumet

"An excellent 'focused' book on focus groups – anyone who reads this book can pretty much kickstart their own focus group research."

Aditya Simha, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater

Helpful book for people exploring different research methods and then going on to do focus group research

Mrs Joanna De Souza
School of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College London
April 26, 2023

An excellent companion to my course; accordingly, it is currently on my "Recommended" reading list.

Mr DOUGLAS ANDERSON
Humanities Fine Arts Dept, Front Range Community College
February 17, 2015

This is an outstanding textbook that covers all aspects of Focus Groups thoroughly yet succinctly.

Dr Mary Ann Kluge
July 12, 2014
Key features

NEW TO THIS EDITION:

 

  • Expanded discussion of analysis includes practical tips on keeping it manageable and new material on planning for analysis, the sequence of steps involved in analysis, and appropriate analytic frameworks.
  • New insights on developing effective questions, especially questions that evoke discussion and engage the participants, prepare readers to conduct their own successful focus groups.
  • Updated coverage of Internet focus group research includes new information on planning, technical help, and the use of online groups.
  • Expanded coverage helps readers grasp the importance of hosting the focus group.
  • A new emphasis on planning focus group studies with analysis in mind helps readers avoid the pitfall of considering analysis as an afterthought rather than as an important upfront consideration.

KEY FEATURES:

 

  • Practical coverage on deliberate listening, moderating skills, results analysis, adapting and modifying focus groups to specific audiences and environments, and measuring the quality of the research gained from such groups prepares readers to plan and conduct their own focus groups.
  • The book explains the differences among various approaches to focus groups, including market research, academic, nonprofit, and participatory groups.
  • Engaging coverage of issues that researchers and evaluators often struggle with includes how to write good questions, how to get people to show up, how to handle dominant or shy participants, and how to make sense of all that data.
  • Examples, tips, and cautionary notes help readers avoid problems at every stage of the process.

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 5

Chapter 6


For instructors

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