Focus groups as qualitative research/

Includes bibliographical references.

Only a decade ago, focus groups were virtually unknown to social scientists. Now their use in academic as well as outside settings is vast and ever growing. David L. Morgan has extensively revised and updated his best-selling Focus Groups as Qualitative Research, providing an excellent guide for researchers in every discipline. He begins his comprehensive revision with an updated introduction that offers a discussion of current social science approaches to focus groups. Expanded coverage on the comparison of focus groups to individual interviews follows, as well as more on the strengths and weaknesses of focus groups (Chapter 2). Chapter 3's section on self-contained focus groups has also been expanded to reflect the increased range of research being done in this area. The next chapter has been thoroughly reorganized both to provide an overview of what a typical set of groups looks like as well as new insights on research design. Similarly, Chapters 5 and 6 have been reorganized and broadened to include examples from social scientists who have established their own practices and methodological research on focus groups. This best-selling research guide concludes with future directions and references that take into account the explosive growth in focus groups as a research tool for all social scientists.

Reflecting the many changes that have occurred in the study of focus groups over the years, Focus Groups as Qualitative Research, Second Edition is for qualitative researchers in every academic discipline as well as those in nonacademic settings.