8310 Week 6 Discussion 1:
What About Focus Groups?
Focus groups can provide rich, thick descriptions of experiences, attitudes, and opinions shared by a group of individuals who have in common a shared experience about the phenomena you are studying.
Review the resources in the course and online about the challenges, advantages, and disadvantages of using focus groups as part your research methods. Consider if, for your topic, whether a focus group would be a good choice for data collection.
For this Discussion, you will explore the differences between individual interviewing and focus groups.
To prepare for this Discussion:
• Review the Learning Resources related to coding, data analysis, and focus groups.
• Review the focus group media program found in the Learning Resources and consider how you might use a focus group in collecting data for the topic of your research.
Assignment Task Part 1
Post your explanation of the following in 2 pages:
The difference between collecting data using individual interviews and a focus group (e.g., intent, selecting participants, conducting the interview or focus group)
• Given the topic you are currently using for your research, would you consider using a focus group for your study? Why or why not?
Be sure to support your main post and response post with reference to the week’s Learning Resources and other scholarly evidence in APA style. Write a two-page explanation of the following:
The difference between getting information through individual interviews and through a focus group (e.g., the goal, how participants are chosen, and how the interview or focus group is run). • Given the topic of your research, would you think about using a focus group? What’s the deal?
Be sure to use the week’s Learning Resources and other scholarly evidence in APA style to back up your main post and response post.
Assignment Task Part 2
Respond to one of your colleagues’ posts in 200 words of the following:
• a suggestion about using a focus group for their research idea.
• Your suggestion may include 3–4 interview questions to ask, considerations for sampling; or how to manage recruiting participants.
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (4th ed.). Sage Publications.
• Chapter 1, “An Introduction to Codes and Coding” (pp. 3–23)
• Chapter 3, “Writing Analytic Memos About Narrative and Visual Data” (pp. 57–84) (previously read in Week 5)
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2012). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• Chapter 12, “Data Analysis in the Responsive Interviewing Model” (pp. 189–211) (previously read in Week 5)
Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2021). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological (2nd ed.) Sage Publications.
• Review Chapter 5 Methods of Data collection” (pp. 124-163)
• Chapter 8, “An Integrative Approach to Data Analysis” (pp. 233–252)
• Chapter 9, “Methods and Processes of Data Analysis (pp. 254–294)
Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Dickinson, W. B, Leech, N. L., and Zoran, A. G. (2009). A qualitative framework for collecting and analyzing data in focus group research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods and International Institute for Qualitative Methodology. (pp. 1-21).
