Chapter 9: Focus Groups

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Exploratory research is a research ______.

A. about a topic about which there is little research already conducted

B. that revisits a well-researched topic from a new perspective

C. that tries to determine whether there is a causal relationship between variables

D. aimed at exploring the unmet needs people have

Learning Objective: 9.1: Discuss the applications of focus group research and its strengths and weaknesses.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

A. to generate ideas for new programs, polices, and products

B. needs assessment and evaluation research

C. to test and evaluate prototypes

D. to better understand the results of other research

Learning Objective: Differentiate between basic and applied focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. A potential weakness of focus group research is the effect of group think. An example of this is ______.

A. the researcher’s bias influences the flow of group discussion

B. participants spend so much time together that they start to think and act similarly

C. participants voice the opinions of the group as their own

D. participants polarize into two factions with opposite opinions

Learning Objective: 9.1: Discuss the applications of focus group research and its strengths and weaknesses.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

A. You are conducting research to learn more about the relationship between rates of high school graduation and unplanned pregnancy.

B. You are evaluating the effectiveness of a recent sexual harassment training at a chain of retail stores.

C. You are conducting research to understand how Denver residents’ perception of the use of psilocybin mushrooms has changed after the substance’s recent decriminalization.

D. You are conducting research among college students to identify a variety of ways in which students would like professors to make material more useful to visual learners.

Learning Objective: 9.23: Determine whether to use structured or unstructured focus groups in different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Evaluation

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. The purpose of a structured focus group is to ______.

A. elicit particular types of information from the group

B. elicit standardized information from each participant

C. encourage free discussion between members of the group

D. generate new ideas about how to deal with a problem

Learning Objective: 9.2: Explain the similarities and differences between unstructured and structured focus groups.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

A. positivist

B. interpretivist

C. critical

D. feminist

Learning Objective: 9.3: Describe the logic of interpretivist methodology and how it affects focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methodology

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. What does validity mean in focus group research?

A. understanding the participants’ perspectives and relaying them accurately

B. eliciting data from your participants that can be generalized to the population

C. removing all bias from the sampling and data collection process

D. ensuring that the results of your research are replicable

Learning Objective: 9.3: Describe the logic of interpretivist methodology and how it affects focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methodology

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. Grounded theory is theory that ______.

A. is created deductively, beginning with abstract theory

B. is created inductively, beginning with empirical data

C. is grounded in interpretivist methodology

D. begins with hypothesis testing

Learning Objective: 9.4: Summarize the ways that theory may be used in focus groups research.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. How can focus groups be used in conjunction with hypotheses from survey research?

A. by directly testing the hypotheses

B. by providing information for better conceptualizing and operationalizing the variables

C. by eliciting information to help form hypotheses

D. by helping to explain unexpected survey findings

Learning Objective: 9.4: Summarize the ways that theory may be used in focus groups research.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

Basic focus group research can be used to ______.

A. evaluate the effect of a policy

B. identify the needs of a population

C. understand shared cultural meaning

D. generate new ideas for improving a program

Learning Objective: 9.5: Identify research questions appropriate for basic and applied focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Research Questions

Difficulty Level: Medium

Applied focus group research can be used to ______.

A. understand shared cultural meaning

B. explain changes in opinion

C. explore group processes

D. identify a problem

Learning Objective: 9.5: Identify research questions appropriate for basic and applied focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Research Questions

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

A. What is the relationship between contraceptive accessibility and child poverty?

B. What changes to classroom dynamics do students of color recommend for increasing participation?

C. How do people feel about taxes on alcohol and tobacco?

D. How do working single mothers describe the experience of raising children in a one-parent household?

Learning Objective: 9.5: Identify research questions appropriate for basic and applied focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Evaluation

Answer Location: Research Questions

Difficulty Level: Hard

11. Which of the following is the best research question for applied focus group research?

A. What is the relationship between contraceptive accessibility and child poverty?

B. What changes to classroom dynamics do students of color suggest for increasing participation?

C. How do people feel about taxing alcohol and tobacco?

D. How do working single mothers describe the experience of raising children in a one-parent household?

Learning Objective: 9.5: Identify research questions appropriate for basic and applied focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Evaluation

Answer Location: Research Questions

Difficulty Level: Hard

What is the relationship between workplace discrimination and job satisfaction among private sector employees? Why is this not a good question for focus group research?

A. This question should be measured quantitatively with a survey.

B. It is too general.

C. It does not use the individual as the unit of analysis.

D. It requires a depth of understanding that should be studied with interview research.

Learning Objective: Learning Objective: 9.5: Identify research questions appropriate for basic and applied focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location:

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

A. This question should be measured quantitatively with a survey.

B. It is too general.

C. It does not use the individual as the unit of analysis.

D. It requires a depth of understanding that should be studied with interview research.

Learning Objective: Learning Objective: 9.5: Identify research questions appropriate for basic and applied focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location:

Difficulty Level: Medium

The unit of analysis in focus group research is ______.

A. the community

B. the group

C. the individual

D. the population

Learning Objective: 9.5: Identify research questions appropriate for basic and applied focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Research Questions

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. Which two stages of research may happen concurrently in focus group research?

A. data collection and operationalizing

B. literature review and sampling

C. data collection and data analysis

D. sampling and operationalizing

Learning Objective: 9.6: Explain each of the various sampling decisions for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sampling

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. You are conducting research on young Asian women’s understanding of how the feminization of Asian men in the U.S. men has affected their partner selection and attraction patterns. For this research, you decide that you want to get information from young Asian women (aged 18–24) and young Asian men (aged 18–24). You will also want to include the perspective of middle-aged Asian men and women to examine how the dynamic has changed over time. Assuming that you are working within fairly tight budget constraints, with which demographic would you hold the most focus groups?

A. middle-aged Asian women

B. young Asian women

C. young Asian men

D. an equal number of groups with young Asian men and young Asian women

Learning Objective: 9.26: Identify an appropriate number of focus groups to use in different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Number and Composition of Groups

Difficulty Level: Hard

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. With a tight budget, you are limited to conducting seven focus groups. Thinking about how quickly you would reach saturation, which of the following is the best plan for the number and composition of the groups?

A. four with university administrators and one group with each of the other demographics

B. four with university students, two with local full-time residents, and one with a combination of business owners and university administrators

C. two with local residents, two with business owners, two with university students, and one with university administrators

D. seven mixed groups that each include people from all four of the demographics

Learning Objective: 9.26: Identify an appropriate number of focus groups to use in different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Number and Composition of Groups

Difficulty Level: Hard

14. During the sampling process for focus group research, you will want to confer with experts when deciding on how many groups to conduct. An expert ______.

A. must be professionally trained in the area of your research

B. should have a degree or certificate in the area of your research

C. will have significant personal or professional experience with the issue

D. is whomever is acting as your gatekeeper

Learning Objective: 9.6: Explain each of the various sampling decisions for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Number and Composition of Groups

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. In focus group research, the goal is for each group to reach the point of saturation. What is saturation?

A. the point at which the data collected answers the research question

B. the point at which each participant has said all they have to say

C. the point at which no new information is being elicited

D. the point at which each subtopic or question has been addressed

Learning Objective: 9.7: Summarize the goal of saturation.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Number and Composition of Groups

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

A. convenience and cluster sampling

B. quota and theoretical sampling

C. simple random and stratified sampling

D. census and convenience sampling

Learning Objective: 9.8: Identify the different sampling methods used in focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Choosing Participants

Difficulty Level: Easy

You are conducting research to generate new ideas about how to reduce rates of reoffending among drug offenders. While sampling for this research, you aim to include eight people from each the three ethnicities with the highest rates of reoffending: Whites, African Americans, and Latinx. Once each focus group has eight people, you stop accepting participants for that group. Which sampling method are you using in this scenario?

A. cluster

B. theoretical

C. simple random

D. quota

Learning Objective: 9.8: Identify the different sampling methods used in focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Choosing Participants

Difficulty Level: Medium

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?

A. theoretical

B. simple random

C. systematic

D. snowball

Learning Objective: 9.27: Choose the best sampling method in different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Choosing Participants

Difficulty Level: Hard

18. Why might a researcher choose to use a simple random sample for focus group research?

A. to increase the diversity of participants in the sample

B. to make the research findings generalizable

C. to be consistent with positivist methodology

D. to make their research replicable

Learning Objective: 9.8: Identify the different sampling methods used in focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Choosing Participants

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. You are conducting research to better understand why so many homeless teenagers participating in a transitional housing program eventually opt out and return to “living on the streets,” with the goal of identifying the problem and generating ideas about possible solutions. You have decided to narrow your focus to teens who receive services at a local drop-in center for homeless youth and are either currently living in transitional housing or have left transitional housing in the past year. Which of the following would be the best gatekeeper for your research?

A. the staff person leading the activities at the drop-in center

B. a social worker who provides people referrals to the center

C. the director of the center

D. a relative of one of the teens

Learning Objective: 9.9: Discuss the role of gatekeepers in focus group research and identity possible gatekeepers in different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Choosing Participants

Difficulty Level: Hard

21. Which of the following operationalizing tasks would you engage in for structured focus groups but not for unstructured focus groups?

A. deciding what information is important enough to write down

B. deciding which markers to follow up on

C. writing specific questions to be asked during the focus group

D. identifying which information to code during analysis

Learning Objective: 9.2: Explain the similarities and differences between unstructured and structured focus groups.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. 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 ______.

A. keep asking the question in exactly the same way in the rest of your focus groups so as to be consistent across croups

B. avoid asking the question entirely in the rest of your focus groups

C. call your participants after the focus group has ended to ask why they didn’t understand the question

D. use their answers to try to understand what confused them, and use that information to revise the question for future groups

Learning Objective: 9.11: Describe the ways in which researchers operationalize for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing

Difficulty Level: Easy

23. Focus group researchers may decide to use a group exercise to help elicit information. In which stage of the research process do they make this decision?

A. data collection

B. operationalizing

C. sampling

D. analysis

Learning Objective: 9.11: Describe the ways in which researchers operationalize for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing

Difficulty Level: Easy

. You are conducting research on voters’ perceptions of policies that seek to reduce household carbon emissions. During the focus groups, you present each participant with a brief overview of several versions of a policy that is likely to appear on next year’s ballot. You ask them to briefly discuss each version of the policy, including its pros and cons, and to recommend changes to each that would make it more appealing to them. Which type of group exercise are you using?

A. exploration

B. evaluation

C. imagine

D. ranking

Learning Objective: 9.11: Describe the ways in which researchers operationalize for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing

Difficulty Level: Medium

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?

A. exploration

B. evaluation

C. imagine

D. ranking

Learning Objective: 9.11: Describe the ways in which researchers operationalize for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing

Difficulty Level: Medium

You are conducting research on single dads’ challenges in balancing work and family. During the focus groups, you ask the participants if they were the principal of their children’s school, what changes they would make to their children’s school life to make it easier for working parents to meet their children’s needs. Which type of group exercise are you using?

A. exploration

B. evaluation

C. imagine

D. ranking

Learning Objective: 9.11: Describe the ways in which researchers operationalize for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing

Difficulty Level: Medium

. 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?

A. allow both participants to stay but seat them next to one another so that they feel comfortable

B. allow both participants to stay but seat them directly across from one another, so they are less inclined to speak to one another

C. thank both participants for their time, but politely let them know that you can’t have friends together in a group because it violates confidentiality rules, and ask which wants to stay and participate

D. politely ask that both participants to leave to avoid making them decide which will stay

Learning Objective: 9.12: Discuss ethical considerations as they pertain to focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Ethics

Difficulty Level: Medium

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?

A. seat them next to one another so that they feel comfortable

B. seat them directly across from one another, so they are less inclined to speak to one another

C. seat them a few people away from one another so that they have a hard time making eye contact or whispering to each other

D. none of these--ask one to leave so it doesn’t matter where they sit

Learning Objective: 9.12: Discuss ethical considerations as they pertain to focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Ethics

Difficulty Level: Medium

26. Which of the following actions should you take to protect the confidentiality of participants in your focus group?

A. warn each participant that their confidentiality could potentially be breached by another participant

B. assign pseudonyms to each participant so that the others don’t know their names

C. tell each participant that they may ask for the recording device to be turned off at any time

D. avoid asking personal questions so that your participants feel comfortable

Learning Objective: 9.13: Identify protections needed in an informed consent statement for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethics

Difficulty Level: Easy

Why is it an ethical issue for people to participate in a focus group with someone they already know?

A. They may be less likely to answer the questions truthfully.

B. They are more likely to break confidentiality by telling people outside the group what the other person said.

C. They may seem cliquey.

D. They are likely to agree with everything the other person says.

Learning Objective: 9.12: Discuss ethical considerations as they pertain to focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethics

Difficulty Level: Easy

27. When inviting someone to join your focus group, you should first contact them ______.

A. in person

B. by written letter

C. by email

D. by phone

Learning Objective: 9.14: Discuss logistical concerns to consider for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Preparing for Data Collection

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

A. pretest the material on your research team

B. pretest the material on people similar to your participants

C. avoid pretesting for exploratory research so that you are genuinely surprised by the results

D. pretest exercises but avoid pretesting questions so as not to waste people’s time on easy questions

Learning Objective: 9.15: Describe how to pretest focus group material.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Preparing for Data Collection

Difficulty Level: Easy

29. As your focus group participants begin to arrive, and you should ______.

A. quietly study their interactions with one another from afar

B. begin asking the participants questions individually before the focus group begins

C. introduce the participants to one another and encourage casual conversation among them

D. ask the participants to be seated and wait for everyone else to arrive

Learning Objective: 9.14: Discuss logistical concerns to consider for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Data Collection

Difficulty Level: Easy

30. If there is a moment of silence after someone finishes discussing a question, the moderator should ______.

A. continually ask questions to keep the conversation going

B. remain quiet to encourage participation from others

C. interject their own thoughts on the question to build rapport

D. call on someone who hasn’t spoken much

Learning Objective: 9.16: Summarize the duties of the moderator and notetaker during data collection.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Data Collection

Difficulty Level: Medium

31. 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?

A. recording nonverbal behaviors

B. noting the most important points of what each participant says

C. creating a concept map

D. noting points that are discussed and how often

Learning Objective: 9.18: Describe each of the types of note-taking for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Data Collection

Difficulty Level: Hard

31. You are conducting focus group research to understand how the new marijuana laws are affecting rural communities. Which type of note-taking might give you some insight into group dynamics?

A. recording nonverbal behaviors

B. the first few words of what each person says

C. creating a concept map

D. noting points that are discussed and how often

Learning Objective: 9.18: Describe each of the types of note-taking for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Data Collection

Difficulty Level: Hard

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

A. magnitude

B. structure

C. frequencies

D. processes

Learning Objective: 9.20: Identify the different types of common patterns across groups in the axial-coding stage of qualitative data analysis.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Analysis

Difficulty Level: Medium

You notice that in your focus groups on making the workplace more productive, the groups of women bring up dress attire and harassment, but your first group with men mentions none of these. What should you do?

A. code it as a frequency

B. ask the men explicitly about why they haven’t brought it up

C. use it as a negative case in your analysis

D. exclude it from your analysis since it was only talked about in some groups

Learning Objective: 9.17: Describe best practices for moderating focus groups | 9.20: Identify the different types of common patterns across groups in the axial-coding stage of qualitative data analysis.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Analysis

Difficulty Level: Medium

Short Answer/Essay

Explain why focus group research is a good data collection method for exploratory research.

Learning Objective: 9.1: Discuss the applications of focus group research and its strengths and weaknesses.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

Compare and contrast focus group research with what you know about observation and interview research. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of focus group research?

Learning Objective: 9.1: Discuss the applications of focus group research and its strengths and weaknesses.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Medium

One of the strengths of focus group research is that it can create synergy between the respondents. What does synergy mean in the context of focus group research, and why is it considered a strength?

Learning Objective: 9.1: Discuss the applications of focus group research and its strengths and weaknesses.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 9.2: Explain the similarities and differences between unstructured and structured focus groups.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Write a research question appropriate for basic focus group research.

• Focus on shared meanings, experiences, concerns, and needs; group process or decision-making
• Avoid asking about cause and effect (though can ask about perceived causes and effects)
• Avoid asking about attitudes, demographic trends, or other questions that can be answered with survey research
• Avoid asking about individuals’ experiences or emotions in great depth or very private issues or behaviors
• Include the unit of analysis in the question
• Focused rather than addressing a broad issue
• Avoid asking questions that can be answered with yes/no or with just a few words
• End in a question mark

Learning Objective: 9.22: Write basic and applied research questions appropriate for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Research Questions

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. Write a research question appropriate for applied focus group research.

• Focus on identification of a problem, generating ideas or solutions, evaluation of prototypes, or understanding the failure of something
• Avoid asking about cause and effect (though can ask about perceived causes and effects)
• Avoid asking about attitudes, demographic trends, or other questions that can be answered with survey research
• Avoid asking about individuals’ experiences or emotions in great depth, or very private issues or behaviors
• Include the unit of analysis in the question
• Focused rather than addressing a broad issue or problem
• Avoid asking questions that can be answered with yes/no or with just a few words
• End in a question mark

Learning Objective: 9.22: Write basic and applied research questions appropriate for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Research Questions

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. Briefly explain why researchers using focus groups for basic or applied research might prefer to keep the group between 5 and 8 participants.

Learning Objective: 9.6: Explain each of the various sampling decisions for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Number and Composition of Groups

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. You are conducting focus group research with employees at a mid-sized company to explore the ways that they might imagine restructuring the workplace to improve work–life balance. Your literature review has suggested that the answers to this question may vary greatly between men and women and between the upper and lower wage earners (between management and sales, for example). What factors should you consider during sampling? How many groups would you decide to conduct and what would be the composition of those groups? Explain your decisions.

Learning Objective: 9.24: Determine an appropriate number of participants per group in different research scenarios. | 9.25: Choose an appropriate composition for focus groups in different research scenarios. |9.26: Identify an appropriate number of focus groups to use in different research scenarios .

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Sampling | Box 9.4. Decision Path for Focus Group Sampling

Difficulty Level: Hard

7. Why is it important to avoid large power differences between the participants in your focus groups?

Learning Objective: 9.25: Choose an appropriate composition for focus groups in different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Choosing Participants

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. 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.

Learning Objective: 9.10: Describe the use of compensation in focus groups.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Compensation and Other Incentives to Participate

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. List two out of the three ways in which an informed consent statement for focus group research might differ from that of interview research.

Learning Objective: 9.13: Identify protections needed in an informed consent statement for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethics

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Why is it important in focus group research to build rapport not only between the moderator and participants but between the participants as well?

Learning Objective: 9.16: Summarize the duties of the moderator and notetaker during data collection.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Data Collection

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Describe two strategies that a moderator might use to prevent someone from dominating the conversation.

Learning Objective: 9.16: Summarize the duties of the moderator and notetaker during data collection.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Data Collection

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. Summarize each of the five types of notetaking during a focus group.

Learning Objective: 9.18: Describe each of the types of note-taking for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Data Collection

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Briefly summarize why it is important to have your participants summarize main points at the end of the focus group.

Learning Objective: 9.16: Summarize the duties of the moderator and notetaker during data collection.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Data Collection

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. Describe the first step of data analysis for focus group research, beginning immediately after the participants leave.

Learning Objective: 9.19: Discuss the stages of data analysis for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Analysis

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 9.20: Identify the different types of common patterns across groups in the axial-coding stage of qualitative data analysis.

Cognitive Domain: Understanding

Answer Location: Analysis

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. You are conducting evaluation research of an after-school program designed to increase college enrollment of graduating students. Survey results over the past five years show that the majority of junior and senior students in the program answered that they would be “very likely” to enroll in college after graduation, however, you find that actual enrollment rates of graduating seniors who have participated in the program is low. You have decided to use focus group research including students, faculty, and parents to find out how they imagine that the program might better serve students and meet its goal of increasing college enrollment.

Write a research question appropriate for this scenario.

• Focus on shared meanings, experiences, concerns, and needs; group process or decision-making; identification of a problem, generating ideas or solutions, evaluation of prototypes, or understanding the failure of something
• Avoid asking about cause and effect (though can ask about perceived causes and effects)
• Avoid asking about attitudes, demographic trends, or other questions that can be answered with survey research
• Avoid asking about individuals’ experiences or emotions in great depth, or very private issues or behaviors
• Include the unit of analysis in the question
• Focused rather than addressing a broad issue or problem
• Avoid asking questions that can be answered with yes/no or with just a few words
• End in a question mark

Learning Objective:

Cognitive Domain:

Answer Location: Research Questions

Difficulty Level: Hard

Is your research basic or applied?

Learning Objective: 9.5: Identify research questions appropriate for basic and applied focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Research Questions

Difficulty Level: Hard

Would you choose to conduct structured or unstructured focus groups for this research? Why?

Learning Objective: 9.23: Determine whether to use structured or unstructured focus groups in different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Hard

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

Learning Objective: 9.24: Determine an appropriate number of participants per group in different research scenarios. | 9.25: Choose an appropriate composition for focus groups in different research scenarios. | Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Number and Composition of Groups

Difficulty Level: Hard

How many focus groups would you conduct? Why?

Learning Objective: 9.26: Identify an appropriate number of focus groups to use in different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Number and Composition of Groups

Difficulty Level: Hard

Which sampling method would you use to choose participants? Why?

Learning Objective: 9.27: Choose the best sampling method in different research scenarios

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Choosing Participants

Difficulty Level: Hard

Conceptualize one important concept from your research question.

Learning Objective: 9.29: Conceptualize and operationalize important concepts for different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing

Difficulty Level: Hard

Operationalize one question or group exercise for a structured focus group that you would use to elicit important information during your focus groups.

Learning Objective: 9.29: Conceptualize and operationalize important concepts for different research scenarios. | 9.30: Decide whether it would be appropriate to use group exercises for different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing

Difficulty Level: Hard

Which type of notes would you take during your focus group, and why would that style of notetaking be the most appropriate?

Learning Objective: 9.32: Choose a style of notetaking for different research scenarios and explain the choice.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing

Difficulty Level: Hard

17. You are conducting focus group research with people in inter-ethnic relationships. You are interested in the degree to which the individuals’ ethnic identities change over time, and how the participants explain their identities. You will want to study a diverse sample of people to get an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon and so will include people from many different ethnic groups, those in inter-ethnic LBTQ+ relationships, and those of varying socioeconomic statuses.

Write a research question appropriate for this scenario.

• Avoid asking about cause and effect (though can ask about perceived causes and effects)
• Avoid asking about attitudes, demographic trends, or other questions that can be answered with survey research
• Avoid asking about individuals’ experiences or emotions in great depth, or very private issues or behaviors
• Include the unit of analysis in the question
• Focused rather than addressing a broad issue or problem
• Avoid asking questions that can be answered with yes/no or with just a few words
• End in a question mark

Learning Objective: 9.22: Write basic and applied research questions appropriate for focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Applied

Answer Location: Research Questions

Difficulty Level: Hard

Is your research basic or applied?

Learning Objective: 9.5: Identify research questions appropriate for basic and applied focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Research Questions

Difficulty Level: Hard

Would you choose to conduct structured or unstructured focus groups for this research? Why?

Would you choose structured or unstructured focus groups for this research? Why?

Learning Objective: 9.23: Determine whether to use structured or unstructured focus groups in different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Hard

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

Learning Objective: 9.24: Determine an appropriate number of participants per group in different research scenarios. | 9.25: Choose an appropriate composition for focus groups in different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Number and Composition of Groups

Difficulty Level: Hard

How many focus groups would you conduct? Why?

Learning Objective: 9.26: Identify an appropriate number of focus groups to use in different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Number and Composition of Groups

Difficulty Level: Hard

Which sampling method would you use to choose participants? Why?

Learning Objective: 9.27: Choose the best sampling method in different research scenarios

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Choosing Participants

Difficulty Level: Hard

Conceptualize one important concept from your research question.

Learning Objective: 9.29: Conceptualize and operationalize important concepts for different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing

Difficulty Level: Hard

Operationalize one question or group exercise for a structured focus group that you would use to elicit important information during your focus groups.

Learning Objective: 9.29: Conceptualize and operationalize important concepts for different research scenarios. | 9.30: Decide whether it would be appropriate to use group exercises for different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing

Difficulty Level: Hard

Which type of notes would you take during your focus group, and why would that style of notetaking be the most appropriate?

Learning Objective: 9.32: Choose a style of note-taking for different research scenarios and explain the choice.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing

Difficulty Level: Hard

19. 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.

• Avoid asking about cause and effect (though can ask about perceived causes and effects)
• Avoid asking about attitudes, demographic trends, or other questions that can be answered with survey research
• Avoid asking about individuals’ experiences or emotions in great depth, or very private issues or behaviors
• Include the unit of analysis in the question
• Focused rather than addressing a broad issue or problem
• Avoid asking questions that can be answered with yes/no or with just a few words
• End in a question mark

Learning Objective:

Cognitive Domain:

Answer Location: Research Questions

Difficulty Level: Hard

Is your research basic or applied?

Learning Objective: 9.5: Identify research questions appropriate for basic and applied focus group research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Research Questions

Difficulty Level: Hard

Would you choose to conduct structured or unstructured focus groups for this research? Why?

Would you choose structured or unstructured focus groups for this research? Why?

Learning Objective: 9.23: Determine whether to use structured or unstructured focus groups in different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Hard

Learning Objective: 9.24: Determine an appropriate number of participants per group in different research scenarios | 9.25: Choose an appropriate composition for focus groups in different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Number and Composition of Groups

Difficulty Level: Hard

How many focus groups would you conduct? Why?

Describe how you would decide how many focus groups to conduct?

Learning Objective: 9.26: Identify an appropriate number of focus groups to use in different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Number and Composition of Groups

Difficulty Level: Hard

Which sampling method would you use to choose participants? Why?

Learning Objective: 9.27: Choose the best sampling method in different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Choosing Participants

Difficulty Level: Hard

Conceptualize one important concept from your research question.

Learning Objective: 9.29: Conceptualize and operationalize important concepts for different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing

Difficulty Level: Hard

Operationalize one question or group exercise for a structured focus group that you would use to elicit important information during your focus groups.

Learning Objective: 9.29: Conceptualize and operationalize important concepts for different research scenarios. | 9.30: Decide whether it would be appropriate to use group exercises for different research scenarios.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing

Difficulty Level: Hard

Which type of notes would you take during your focus group, and why would that style of notetaking be the most appropriate?

Learning Objective: 9.32: Choose a style of note-taking for different research scenarios and explain the choice.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing

Difficulty Level: Hard