Exam 9: Focus Groups

You are conducting focus group research to better understand how household and parental duties are negotiated between parents in families where both parents work full time. You are particularly interested in how these families experience pressures to conform to gender roles, and how the meaning of "parenthood" is negotiated within the family. Write a research question appropriate for this scenario.

As the participants for your focus group begin to arrive, you notice that two of the participants seem to already be best friends. What is the best course of action?

Which of the following is the best research question for basic focus group research?

What new ideas do people have to decrease poverty in the United States? Why is this not a good question for focus group research?

Which of the following is a use of basic focus group research?

When considering pretesting your questions and activities for focus group research you should ______.

. Which type of pattern in data analysis is the most likely to be influenced by group think?

Describe three types of patterns that focus group researchers should look for during analysis that interview researchers may not.

Which two sampling methods are the most likely to be used in focus group research?

You are conducting research on single dads' challenges in balancing work and family. During the focus groups, you give the group a set of cards with different daily challenges they face and ask them to rank them from most difficult to least difficult to overcome. Which type of group exercise are you using?

List four reasons why a researcher may prefer to conduct a structured focus group, rather than an unstructured focus group.

Explain why it's more important to consider compensating participants or providing other incentives for participation in focus group research than when using other methods of research.

Which of the following research scenarios would be best for unstructured focus group research?

Write a research question appropriate for basic focus group research.

You are conducting research on a proposed new low-barrier homeless shelter near the local university. You want to see how different groups respond to this possibility, and how you can best address their concerns. Ideally you are interested in the perspectives of local full-time residents in the neighborhood, university administrators, owners of nearby businesses, and university students who live in the neighborhood. Which sampling method would you most likely choose for sampling the university administrators?

You are conducting focus group research to understand how the meaning of the term "white-washed" is negotiated within the black community. Your focus group includes both Black and biracial participants. Which type of notetaking might give you some insight into group dynamics?

Focus groups are used to collect qualitative data. Which methodology most often provides the basis for focus group research?

During the first focus group that you conduct in a series of eight focus groups, you find that several participants were unclear what you were asking about with one of the questions and so provided answers that were tangential rather than helpful. In this situation, you should ______.

As the participants for your focus group begin to arrive, you notice that two of the participants seem to already be casual acquaintances. What is the best seating arrangement?

Describe the number and composition of participants in each group, and explain your decisions