Voevodins' Library _ "Focus Groups" 3rd edition / Richard A. Krueger & Mary Anne Casey ... Interview, People, Discussion, Decision Making, Development, Single-Category Design, Multiple-Category Design, Double-Layer Design, Broad-Involvement Design, Audience, Written Plan, Questioning Route, Categories of Questions, Opening Questions, Introductory Questions, Transition Questions, Key Questions, Ending Questions, Campaign, Strategies for Selecting Participants, Sampling Procedures for Focus Groups, Moderating Skills, Moderator, Discussion, Head Nodding, Question, Analysis Strategies, Long-Table Approach, Using the Computer to Help Manage the Data, Rapid Approach, Sound Approach, Principles of Reporting, Written Reports, Narrative Report, Top-Line Report, Bulleted Report, Report Letter to Participants, Oral Reports, Styles of Focus Group Research, Telephone Focus Groups, Internet Focus Groups, Media Focus Groups

Voevodins' Library _ "Focus Groups" 3rd edition / Richard A. Krueger & Mary Anne Casey ... Interview, People, Discussion, Decision Making, Development, Single-Category Design, Multiple-Category Design, Double-Layer Design, Broad-Involvement Design, Audience, Written Plan, Questioning Route, Categories of Questions, Opening Questions, Introductory Questions, Transition Questions, Key Questions, Ending Questions, Campaign, Strategies for Selecting Participants, Sampling Procedures for Focus Groups, Moderating Skills, Moderator, Discussion, Head Nodding, Question, Analysis Strategies, Long-Table Approach, Using the Computer to Help Manage the Data, Rapid Approach, Sound Approach, Principles of Reporting, Written Reports, Narrative Report, Top-Line Report, Bulleted Report, Report Letter to Participants, Oral Reports, Styles of Focus Group Research, Telephone Focus Groups, Internet Focus Groups, Media Focus Groups Voevodin's Library: Interview, People, Discussion, Decision Making, Development, Single-Category Design, Multiple-Category Design, Double-Layer Design, Broad-Involvement Design, Audience, Written Plan, Questioning Route, Categories of Questions, Opening Questions, Introductory Questions, Transition Questions, Key Questions, Ending Questions, Campaign, Strategies for Selecting Participants, Sampling Procedures for Focus Groups, Moderating Skills, Moderator, Discussion, Head Nodding, Question, Analysis Strategies, Long-Table Approach, Using the Computer to Help Manage the Data, Rapid Approach, Sound Approach, Principles of Reporting, Written Reports, Narrative Report, Top-Line Report, Bulleted Report, Report Letter to Participants, Oral Reports, Styles of Focus Group Research, Telephone Focus Groups, Internet Focus Groups, Media Focus Groups

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	Q. Is This Scientific Research? A. Scientific research takes several forms. In biological and physical science research, the intent is to discover cause and effect, to find relationships, to find predictability, or to discover laws of nature. In these forms of scientific research, control, replication, and proof through replication are crucial. There are several underlying assumptions. One is that the researcher has control over the environment. For example, the researcher can add more moisture or light and document the consequences on plants. Another assumption is that there are "laws of nature," and these laws are consistent, understandable, and predictable. Social science research uses many of the same approaches but makes adaptations to fit the human experiences. Yes, focus group research is scientific research because it is a process of disciplined inquiry that is systematic and verifiable. It is not the type of scientific research that seeks to control and predict, but it is the type that seeks to provide understanding and insight. CAUTION Answering a Different Question A strategy, which we discourage, is answering a different question. This is regularly used in the political arena, especially in press conferences. Sometimes this is done inadvertently, such as when the question isn't understood and a rough attempt is made to provide an answer. Other times, the strategy is an overt attempt to switch the question to one that the respondent is able to answer. This strategy is not advised. Background For decades, social scientists have sought to improve the quality of their research by perfecting scientific procedures. Social scientists adopted experimental design strategies used in physical and biological sciences. Randomization, control groups, and experimental designs became popular. However, scientists were soon disappointed, for although they learned a great deal, they found that this positivistic approach actually limited their thinking and overlooked valuable data. Consequently, other scientific procedures emerged that proved to be applicable to social science inquiry. A number of names were given to these scientific procedures, but in general, they belong to a category called qualitative research. Thoughts This question regularly comes from someone who has been told that there is only one right way to conduct scientific research, and that way is a positivistic method, whereby we set hypotheses, control the experiment, and then project to a population. We owe a great deal to the traditions of logical-positivistic scientific methods. Major discoveries can be attributed to this style of research and way of knowing. In fact, this way of thinking is so traditional and predominant within the United States that some people don't know there are other ways of knowing or of doing research.

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