Focus Groups: Theory and Practice (Applied Social Research Methods)

"The best feature of this book is its balanced combination of theory and practice. . . . Considering its size, clarity, affordability, and the scope of the information it provides, the book is more than worth its value. The amount of theoretical and practical information it offers makes this volume an excellent introduction to focus group research."

--Social Work with Groups

"The best choice as a seminar reading, not least because of its generally sound and sensible approach, combined with a price as much as 70% lower than that of some other books. Distinctive features include an explicit consideration of the relevance to focus group practice of laboratory research on group dynamics, a valuable discussion of how content analysis might be applied to transcripts from group interviews, and a comparison of focus groups with other group techniques, such as the nominal group technique. The bibliography is fairly extensive and contains several references to works on interviewing and group leadership that I do not recall seeing in other treatments of the topic. . . . Every chapter concludes with a set of review questions and an exercise. No other book on focus groups includes such instructional aids."

--Journal of Marketing Research

"An insightful discussion of group dynamics. . . . Abundant references are provided."

--Stern′s HR New & Forthcoming

"Provides a very useful introduction to the theory and practice of conducting focus groups. . . . A handy and very practical introduction for anyone thinking of using group discussions in their research work."

--SRA News

"If you have hesitated to use focus groups because you were uncertain how to go about it, Stewart and Shamdasani′s Focus Groups should be quite useful. The book is a concise, lucid manual that describes the strengths and weaknesses of focus groups, the circumstances in which focus groups are appropriate, and the procedures for using them to the greatest advantage. Although the authors encourage the reader to consider the merits of focus groups, they present a balanced view that also describes circumstances in which focus groups are not appropriate . . . . To help the reader select the best approach, other group techniques are discussed, including the nominal group technique, the Delphi technique, brainstorming, synectics, and leaderless discussion groups. The strengths and weaknesses of each of these alternatives are discussed, and references are provided for the reader who desires to explore them in greater detail. To add credence to their suggestions, the authors review relevant group dynamics literature, including variables such as demographics, physical characteristics of individuals, personality, interpersonal influences, group cohesiveness, and environmental influences. This is a valuable contribution that provides theoretical and empirical support for their approach. The book provides clear descriptions of what should be done at each step of a focus group project and practical examples to help the reader visualize the implementation . . . . Provides interesting examples of focus groups in practice. . . . Includes a clear, well-organized example of a focus group summary report that shows how to organize and document focus group results. This book is an excellent starting point for anyone contemplating the use of focus groups. It provides clear, cogent discussions of focus group techniques, and it illustrates these techniques with practical examples. Each chapter concludes with a summary, review questions, and a skill-building exercise. Whether you are contemplating the use of focus groups or would just like to know more about them, this book is recommended."

--Journal of Management

Edited Version of Above Quote

"If you have hesitated to use focus groups because you were uncertain how to go about it, Stewart and Shamdasani′s Focus Groups should be quite useful. The book is a concise, lucid manual that describes the strengths and weaknesses of focus groups, the circumstances in which focus groups are appropriate, and the procedures for using them to the greatest advantage. . . . The book provides clear descriptions of what should be done at each step of a focus group project and practical examples to help the reader visualize the implementation. . . . Provides interesting examples of focus groups in practice. . . . Includes a clear, well-organized example of a focus group summary report. . . . An excellent starting point for anyone contemplating the use of focus groups. It provides clear, cogent discussions of focus group techniques, and it illustrates these techniques with practical examples. Each chapter concludes with a summary, review questions, and a skill-building exercise. Whether you are contemplating the use of focus groups or would just like to know more about them, this book is recommended."

--Journal of Management

Group interviews are among the most common approaches to research in the social sciences. In Focus Groups, the authors provide a systematic treatment of the design, conduct, and interpretation of focus group interviews within the context of social science research and theory. They examine every facet of focus groups, from the selection and recruitment of group participants through the analysis of focus group data. Also included are valuable discussions on designing the interview guide, the art of conducting the focus group, and the characteristics of effective moderators. Focus Groups serves as a useful guide for research practitioners or supplementary text for research courses in psychology, sociology, political science, organization studies, marketing, and social work.

David W. Stewart, Ph.D. is President’s Professor of Marketing and Law at Loyola Marymount University and the current editor of the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing Dr. Stewart has previously served as a member of the faculty of the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, and the University of California, Riverside. In addition to his responsibilities as a faculty member Dr. Stewart has served in a number administrative roles in higher education. He is a past editor of both the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. He has served on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Marketing Science and as Vice President, Finance and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Marketing Association. He has also served on the Board of the AMA Foundation. He is a past-president of the Academic Council of the American Marketing Association, a past chairman of the Section on Statistics in Marketing of the American Statistical Association, a past president of the Society for Consumer Psychology and a Fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. He is also a former member and past-chairman of the United States Census Bureau′s Advisory Committee of Professional Associations.

Dr. Stewart has authored or co-authored more than 250 publications and eight books. Dr. Stewart’s research has examined a wide range of issues including marketing strategy, the analysis of markets, consumer information search and decision making, effectiveness of marketing communications, public policy issues related to marketing and methodological approaches to the collection and analysis of marketing data. His research and commentary are frequently featured in the business and popular press. A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Professor Stewart received his B. A. from the Northeast Louisiana University (now the University of Louisiana at Monroe) and his M. A. and Ph.D. in psychology from Baylor University.

In 2007, Dr. Stewart was awarded the Elsevier Distinguished Marketing Scholar Award by the Society for Marketing Advances and in 2006, Dr. Stewart was honored by the Academy of Marketing Science with the Cutco/Vector Distinguished Educator Award for lifetime contributions to marketing. In 2005, he received the Omicron Delta Kappa Men of Merit Award from his alma mater, Baylor University. Professor Stewart has also been honored for innovation in teaching by the Decision Sciences Institute and he was a member of a four-person faculty team honored by the U.S. Distance Learning Association for the “Best Distance Learning Program 1996 -- Continuing Education” in 1996. In 1998, he received the American Academy of Advertising Award for Outstanding Contribution to Advertising Research for his long-term contributions to research in advertising. His paper on warning messages was named the best paper published in the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing during 1992-94 and, he was recipient of the American Academy of Advertising Award for best paper in the Journal of Advertising in 1989. In 1988 he was Marketing Science Institute Visiting Scholar at the General Motors Corporation. He was been included in Who’s Who in America, Who′s Who of the World, Who’s Who in American Education, and Who′s Who in Advertising.

Professor Stewart′s experience includes work as a manager of research for Needham, Harper, and Steers Advertising, Chicago (now DDB) and consulting projects for a wide range of organizations. Among the organizations for which Dr. Stewart has consulted are Hewlett Packard, Agilent Technologies, the Coca-Cola Company, Hughes, NCR, Texas Instruments, IBM, Intel, Cadence Design Systems, Century 21 Real Estate, Samsung, American Home Products, Visa Services, Xerox, the U. S. Census Bureau and the United States Federal Trade Commission, among others. He has served as an expert witness before the Federal Trade Commission, in United States Federal Court, and in State Courts in cases involving deceptive advertising claims and unfair business practices, in matters related to trademarks and intellectual property, and in anti-trust actions. Professor Stewart has delivered executive education programs throughout the United States and in twenty other nations on four continents.

Prem Shamdasani, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Marketing; Associate Dean, Executive Education; Academic Director, Asia-Pacific Executive (APEX) MBA Program; Co-Director, Stanford-NUS Executive Program in International Management Program and Director, Advanced Management Program at the NUS Business School, National University of Singapore.

He holds a BBA degree with first class honors from the National University of Singapore, and received his PhD in Marketing from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. His research and teaching interests include Brand Management, New Product Marketing, Retail Strategy, Relationship Marketing, and Cross-Cultural Consumer Behavior.

He has taught in the Singapore and internationally, and has received numerous commendations and awards for teaching excellence. Aside from teaching graduate and executive MBA courses, Dr Shamdasani is very active in executive development and training and has worked with more than 80 companies globally such as Caterpillar, J&J, L’Oreal, McDonalds, Nokia, Sony, Samsung, IBM, Microsoft, 3M, DuPont, Asahi Glass, Philips, Siemens, Alcatel-Lucent, Singapore Airlines, UPS, AP Moeller Maersk, Roche, Bayer Healthcare, GSK, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Barclays, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Deloitte, Danone, Nestle, Suntory, Volvo, Ikea, Carrefour, Royal Ahold, NTUC Incheon Int’l Airport, UPS, Wipro, Singapore Tourism Board, UNICEF, USDA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Singapore) and Commonwealth Secretariat (UK).

He is also actively involved in focus group research for consumer products companies and social marketing programs. His research publications have appeared in the leading regional and international journals and include the Journal of Consumer Research, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Advertising Research, Asian Journal of Marketing, Asia Pacific Journal of Management and the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services.