POLS 3180 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Focus Group, Deliberative Democracy, Group Dynamics
13 Dec 2016
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Document Summary
Focus group: a research technique that collects data through group interaction on a topic determined by the researcher . Collects data by stimulating and observing group discussion. Often used in conjunction with other (interview) techniques. Compatible with both experimental and observational designs. Two main goals: mimic social interaction/group dynamics. Investigate the role of peer discussion on preference formation. One is bound to find differences in how some interviewees talk about some topics in individual versus group interviews : make use of synergy and other emergent properties. Two people tend to produce more useful ideas together than in isolation. Two people tend to produce more comprehensive answers together than in. Became popular in social sciences in the 1980s. Popular technique in studies of deliberative democracy. Emergence of online focus groups: these mimic social interaction online, not real life" interaction. When assembling groups, we usually aim for: Background role: keep conversation on topic, encourage everyone to participate.
