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. How Big Is the Sample? or, How Can You Make Those Statements With Such a Small Sample?
A. In this form of research, the quality of the study is not dependent on the size of the sample. The intent is to achieve theoretical saturation, which is akin to redundancy. We are watching for patterns in our interview results, and we will sample until we discover that we have "saturated" the theory or found redundant information. In focus group research, the rule of thumb has been to conduct three or four focus groups with a particular audience and then decide if additional groups (or cases) should be added to the study. Large-scale studies with divergent populations often require more groups, but our goal is to determine the variability of a concept or idea.
Background
Patton (1990) offers an example that might be helpful in your answer:
Piaget contributed a major breakthrough to our understanding of how children think by observing his own two children at length and in great depth. Freud established the field of psychoanalysis based on fewer than ten client cases. Handler and Grinder founded neurolinguistic programming by studying three renowned and highly effective therapists. ... Peters and Waterman formulated their widely followed eight principles for organizational excellence by studying 62 companies, a very small sample of the thousands of companies one might study.
The validity, meaningfulness, and insights generated from qualitative inquiry have more to do with the information-richness of the cases selected and the observational/analytical capabilities of the researcher than with sample size. (p. 185)
Thoughts
Small sample size will be hard for some researchers to swallow. Quantitative research procedures have repeatedly called for randomization and adequate sample size. Indeed, sample size is an indicator of quality in quantitative research. The logic of sampling in qualitative research is different. The purpose of the study and the nature of what is discovered determine the sample type and size.
<< Why Don't You Use Random Sampling?
References >>