Focus Group Fundamentals
This term refers to a series of discussions carefully designed to obtain perceptions of people in a non-threatening environment.
What is a focus group?
He is known for exploring morale in the U.S. military during World War II and discovering that people reveal sensitive information in safe, comfortable settings.
Who is Robert K. Merton?
Focus groups in this area aim to improve products by testing whether the information gathered helps create a better version.
What is a market focus group?
Focus groups gather insights from group interactions, while this tool focuses on numerical data.
What is a survey?
In some focus group settings, this group dynamic can prevent quieter participants from sharing their views.
What are dominant individuals?
Focus group participants are selected based on these qualities, which are directly related to the topic being studied.
What are common characteristics?
He was one of the first social scientists to express concerns about the accuracy of traditional interview methods.
Who is Stuart A. Rice?
This style of focus group is commonly used in academic settings, where transparency and peer review are emphasized.
What is an academic focus group?
Unlike focus groups, this method relies on watching behavior without intruding on the participants.
What is observation?
Focus groups may face challenges when discussing these types of sensitive or personal issues.
What are controversial or awkward topics?
Focus groups are primarily used to better understand how people feel or think about this.
What is an issue, idea, product, or service?
She applied focus group methodology to the study of media and audience reactions to advertising and cultural messages.
Who is Marjorie Fiske?
Focus groups in this field are often used for assessing needs, customer satisfaction, or evaluating processes in non-profit or governmental sectors.
What is a public/non-profit focus group?
Focus groups are centered around group discussions, while this method involves long-term observation of cultural practices.
What is ethnography?
If the questions and procedures are not carefully crafted, this can occur in focus groups.
What is ineffectiveness or bias?
This technique was first used by social scientists during World War II, helping to begin the development of focus groups.
What is the nondirective interviewing technique?
This social scientist’s work in public health demonstrated how focus groups could uncover community attitudes and beliefs regarding health issues.
Who is Patricia Kendall?
This type of focus group involves participants who are not researchers themselves, often due to limited resources.
What is a participatory focus group?
Focus groups collect group insights, whereas this method gathers personal accounts and stories from individuals.
What is narrative inquiry?
The tendency for participants to engage in this type of behavior can undermine the authenticity of the data collected.
What is intellectualizing?
This type of interview technique, introduced by Robert K. Merton, was designed to explore the meanings individuals attach to social phenomena.
What is a focused interview?
Together with Mary Anne Casey, this figure helped establish the methodology for conducting focus groups in applied research.
Who is Richard Krueger?
A key feature of this focus group style is the use of special facilities, such as rooms with one-way mirrors, and professional moderators.
What is a market focus group?
This method captures collective experiences like focus groups, but this other approach dives deep into individual perceptions.
What is phenomenology?
Some focus groups may not tap into this emotional aspect of human behavior, which can be crucial for understanding motivation.
What are emotions?