Successful Focus Groups

David L. Morgan is a professor emeritus in Department of Sociology at Portland State University. He is a sociological social psychologist, who is widely known for his work on focus groups, including his book, Focus Groups as Qualitative Research, and as coauthor of The Focus Group Kit. In addition, he has worked extensively on mixed methods, including a book for SAGE, Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Methods. Most recently, he has published Essentials of Dyadic Interviewing for Routledge, and A New Era in Focus Group Research, co-edited, with Rosaline Barbour, for Palgrave.

Introduction PART ONE: BASIC PRINCIPLES When to Use Focus Groups and Why - David L Morgan and Richard A Krueger The Group Interview in Social Research - James H Frey and Andrea Fontana The Design and Analysis of Focus Group Studies - John Knodel A Practical Approach Understanding Communication Processes in Focus Groups - Terrance L Albrecht, Gerianne M Johnson and Joseph B Walther Quality Control in Focus Group Research - Richard A Krueger PART TWO: COMBINING WITH OTHER METHODS Using Focus Groups to Adapt Survey Instruments to New Populations - Theodore D Fuller et al Experience From a Developing Country Improving Survey Questionnaires Through Focus Groups - Kerth O'Brien Focus Groups and Surveys as Complementary Research Methods - Brent Wolff, John Knodel and Werasit Sittitrai A Case Example Selecting Individual or Group Interviews - Benjamin F Crabtree et al PART THREE: CONDUCTING SELF-CONTAINED RESEARCH Using Dialogical Methods in Group Interviews - Raymond V Padilla Focus Group Research on Sensitive Topics - Richard A Zeller Setting the Agenda Without Setting the Agenda Focus Group Interviewing With Low-Income, Minority Populations - Robin L Jarrett A Research Experience Focus Groups and Community Mobilization - Thomas Plaut, Suzanne Landis, and June Trevor A Case Study From Rural North Carolina PART FOUR: CONCLUSIONS Future Directions for Focus Groups - David L Morgan