Focus Group Practice

by Claudia Puchta, Jonathan Potter

Focus Group Practice is unique in providing a picture of focus group moderation and interaction that is based on the study of what actually happens in high-class market research focus groups and in using recent theories of interaction, for example discourse and conversation analyses, to throw light on the practice of moderation. It is written in clear, engaging and non-technical manner and richly illustrated by examples from focus groups in a wide range of different contexts. New moderators will find the basic elements of focus groups described and explained, and experienced moderators will find new ways of understanding what they do which will help them to develop their skills. Focus Groups moderation is understood in terms of the cutting edge theories of interaction. It concentrates on the basic and subtle processes through which moderators elicit opinions, manage disagreements, and generate a range of views. How are participants encouraged to be animated and involved, and how are the arguments and anecdotes discouraged? How are responses guided to in the required direction? This book addresses these pertinent questions. Above all, how does a moderator keep participants focused? This unique book will be essential reading for all involved in focus group practice. It is accessible to broad readership, including undergraduate students.

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2004

Reviews

[Michael Burnam-Fink · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a theoretically ambitious, yet pragmatically grounded approach to conducting focus groups, gathering perspectives from marketing research and psychology to describe how best to manage focus groups. This book is focused more towards marketing and mediating, rather than the social sciences and putting groups together, but it's well-written and very useful.