Summary
Contents
What is qualitative secondary analysis? How can it be most effectively applied in social research? This timely and accomplished book offers readers a well informed, reliable guide to all aspects of qualitative secondary analysis. The book: Defines secondary analysis. Distinguishes between quantitative and qualitative secondary analysis. Maps the main types of qualitative secondary analysis. Covers the key ethical and legal issues. Offers a practical guide to effective research. Sets the agenda for future developments in the subject. Written by an experienced researcher and teacher with a background in sociology, the book is a comprehensive and invaluable introduction to this growing field of social research.
Group Discussions/Focus Groups
Group Discussions/Focus Groups
Group discussion is a means of collecting data in one go from several people (who usually share common experiences) and which concentrates on their shared meanings, whereas a focus group is a special type of group discussion with a narrowly focused topic discussed by group members of equal status who do not know one another.
Section Outline: Tapping into collective opinions and feelings. Public meetings: who really participates? Smaller informal groups. Expressed and underlying attitudes. Group discussions are cheap, quick and non-individualist. Social dynamics in group discussions. Focus groups as a special case. Size and procedures for focus groups. Selection of participants. Arrangements for meeting. The roles of ‘facilitator’ and ‘scribe’. Focus groups: cheap and dirty substitute for research.
Our opinions, feelings and attitudes ...
