The Search for a Method: Focus Groups and the Development of Mass Communication Research

by Morrison, David E.

• ISBN13: 9781860205408
• ISBN10: 1860205402
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-09-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

"This is a beautifully integrated volume on the contexts and beginnings of the focus group technique." -Robert Merton, professor emeritus, Columbia University Covering the origins, path, and practice of focus group research, this book provides not only a detailed methodological critique but also a focused look at the beginnings of modern modes of mass communication research. It details the historical context of the research setting created by Paul Lazarsfeld and shows how focus groups grew out of a tradition of quantitative as opposed to qualitative research. This study draws on unique sources, notably interviews with Lazarsfeld and his key early associates, together with Lazarsfeld's private papers and correspondence.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
A Focus on History	p. 1
Lazarsfeld, Politics, Mathematics and Social Research	p. 35
Lazarsfeld in America: The Institutionalisation of Knowledge	p. 63
The Rise of Focus Groups: The Missing Years	p. 121
Focusing on the Focus Group	p. 147
Problems and Procedures in the Conduct of Focus Groups	p. 179
Good and Bad Practice in Focus Group Research	p. 207
The Ethics of Research	p. 225
Afterword: Market Research and University Social Science Research	p. 253
Bibliography	p. 275
Index	p. 291
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