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  3. 27. Focus groups
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Focus groups

  • Robyn Longhurst(author)
  • Lynda Johnston(author)
Chapter of: The Field Guide to Mixing Social and Biophysical Methods in Environmental Research(pp. 469–474)
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Title Focus groups
ContributorRobyn Longhurst(author)
Lynda Johnston(author)
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0418.27
Landing pagehttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0418/chapters/10.11647/obp.0418.27
Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
CopyrightRobyn Longhurst; Lynda Johnston;
PublisherOpen Book Publishers
Published on2025-02-25
Long abstract

Focus groups are usually made up of 6 to 12 participants and are a useful method for gathering a wide range of opinions and experiences about a specified topic. Careful preparation including creating ahead of the discussion a list of themes or questions to ask helps keep the discussion focused. This method can be used as a stand-alone method or with a suite of other methods.

Page rangepp. 469–474
Print length6 pages
LanguageEnglish (Original)
Locations
Landing PageFull text URLPlatform
PDFhttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0418/chapters/10.11647/obp.0418.27Landing pagehttps://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0418.27.pdfFull text URL
HTMLhttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0418/chapters/10.11647/obp.0418.27Landing pagehttps://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0418/ch27.xhtmlFull text URLPublisher Website
Contributors

Robyn Longhurst

(author)
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic at Victoria University of Wellington
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9192-0643

Lynda Johnston

(author)
Professor of Geography at University of Waikato
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7686-9181
References
  1. Unfortunately, open-access resources on focus groups are difficult to find but an excellent ‘closed’ source is: Cameron, J. 2021. ‘Focusing on the focus group’, in Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography, ed. by I. Hay and M. Cope (Oxford University Press), pp. 200–21.
  2. Browne, A.L. 2016. ‘Can people talk together about their practices? Focus groups, humour and the sensitive dynamics of everyday life’, Area, 48.2, pp. 198–205.
  3. On both focus groups and interviews see: Longhurst, R. and L. Johnston. 2023. ‘Semi-structured interviews and focus groups’, in Key Methods in Geography, ed. by N. Clifford, M. Cope, and T. Gillespie (Sage Publications), pp. 168–183.
  4. Johnston, L. and Longhurst, R., Chapter 32, this volume. ‘Interviews: Structured, semi-structured and open-ended’.
  5. Winata, F. and McLafferty, S., Chapter 43, this volume. ‘Survey and questionnaire methods’.

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