I would certainly use focus groups to determine research questions/problems in an action research type scenario. Any situation that I would research where I wouldn't necessarily know the subtleties of the situation would be a good opportunity for a focus group. Even in my 111 class, I think it would be interesting to see what the students say (in a classic, no stakes focus group) about what helps and hinders them most in the study of writing. Ideally, I'd get students from multiple classes and group them in terms of their own, broad social categories: emo boys, jock girls, etc. My results would be new ideas, hopefully, and even if they weren't, they'd be the jumping off point for further research.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Focus Groups
I understand people's hesitance toward focus groups. Their biggest problem, I think, is with the ungeneralizability of this method. Somehow, focus groups don't feel like research because the "results" can't be measured and provide a priori truth. Even case studies, though the results aren't generalizable, have a more legitimate feeling than focus groups. The difference between these different types of specificity is, I think, a rhetorical one. We as students and researchers have developed a pathos for logos; in other words, we like things that seem logically true more than we like things that seem momentarily so. That said, if we can get over the Enlightenment hump, focus groups can provide truth and knowledge that we never imagined. For me, the focus group functions much like a group brainstorm with the discussion and conversation of the group providing and creating new ideas.
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Seth, I don't know if you've ever read anything by Ira Shor, but in Empowering Education, Shor talks about inviting his students to participate in a focus group about their class. A few students would stay after class every now and again, and they would talk freely about how the class is going and their suggestions for improvement. It's a REALLY interesting idea, one that works with the strengths of focus groups (small group who's findings don't necessarily need to be generalizable). Check it out! I think if this happened at the 111 level and enough instructors held regular focus groups with their students, we could generate some really interesting departmental knowledge about our 111 students!
ReplyDeleteSeth I love the tie you are making between participatory research and focus groups. I agree with you that the strength of a focus group comes from the conversational situation that results. I think it allows participants to discover (right along with researchers) exactly how they feel about things. Often we are strangers to ourselves regarding certain issues and talking through things with others might provide a space to "talk to learn" or to "brainstorm" as you pointed out.
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