"This kit will provide the reader with a systematic and readable approach to the design, implementation, and analysis of focus group data. The material is presented to help the novice learn how to actually conduct a focus group while at the same time enables those more experienced with focus groups to check their own performance against best practice. These materials will be the benchmark against which the practice of focus groups should be judged."
--Ray C. Rist, The World Bank, Washington, DC
"The Focus Group Kit is a non pareil work. Its straightforward, common-sense approach is represented with such eloquent language. It is a real joy to read. It was refreshing to find more than I anticipated in its pages. Dick Krueger, etal. have a talent for capturing the essence of what we all need to do to conduct outstanding focus group research. For me this kit gave new meaning to the process."
--Gail Redd, Expert Moderator, Washington, DC
You have just been asked to run a focus group, but you don′t know where to start. How do you get the right mix of people together? How many people should be in your group? What kind of questions should you ask? How do you phrase them? What do you do with the information you′ve gathered? How do you put it all together into one cohesive report? These are but a few of the issues that are covered in The Focus Group Kit. The kit provides you with all you′ll need to know to run a successful focus group, from initial planning stages to asking questions, from moderating to the final analyzing and reporting of your research. It′s all here!
David L. Morgan received his PhD in sociology from the University of Michigan, and is currently an emeritus professor in the Department of Sociology at Portland State University. He is an inter-disciplinary research methodologist, working in both qualitative research and mixed methods research. In addition to artificial intelligence, his research interests include focus groups and mixed methods research. He is the author of more than fifty peer-reviewed articles and author or editor of nine books on research methods; he is currently the series editor for the Qualitative Research Methods Series from Sage (the “little blue books”).
Richard Krueger is professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota. He is an internationally recognized authority on the use of focus group interviewing within the public environment. For 25 years he served as evaluation leader for the University of Minnesota Extension Service followed by 10 years teaching graduate courses in program evaluation and research methodology. He is a former president of the American Evaluation Association and a member of the Qualitative Research Consultants Association. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. In his spare time he repairs his motorcycle, swaps stories with friends, and shops for tools at the local hardware store. Maybe you’ve seen him there.