The perceptions of teachers who have participated in professional development experiences provided by the Urban Systemic Initiative in four sites (Miami, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; El Pas, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee) were studied. Focus groups were conducted at each of the 47 schools across the 4 sites. Focus groups usually consisted of the five…

This paper describes the use of focus groups as a qualitative research method. The focus group is a carefully designed discussion that allows people to express their points of view and provide researchers with indicators of program impact. Participants in focus groups possess certain characteristics related to the subject under study. They are…

The purpose of this paper is to explore to what extent is there an understanding among physicians as to how continuing professional education (CPE) and Continuing Medical Education (CME) affect physicians practice? To address the question, focus groups were used to begin a process of identifying the components within each type of education so that…

In an effort to meet the new challenges for improving teacher education and student learning in P-12 schools in New York, and to develop a shared vision among partners of a National Council for Accreditation in Teacher Education (NCATE) conceptual framework, the faculty and staff of a school of education in New York conducted a school-college…

Developed a taxonomy of teen-identified problematic heterosocial situations through 10 same-sex focus groups involving 58 adolescents. Results suggest the importance of romantic relationships in the lives of participating adolescents and show the range of situations identified in addition to dating. (SLD)

Investigates young adolescents' perceptions of their peers' prosocial behaviors. Results suggest that traditional research has not addressed the diversity of prosocial behaviors that youth enact, nor emphasized behaviors that are salient to young adolescents. Such behaviors included standing up for others, encouraging others, helping others…

Uses three specific studies to analyze methods of data collection from children, including participant observation, focus groups, interviews, and structured activities. Points out the effective and ineffective aspects of each method, and deals with methodological issues such as parental consent, access to children, privacy, and confidentiality.…

Clean Break is a theatre group offering learning opportunities to women with mental health problems or criminal justice involvement. The women act as peer researchers, conducting interviews to elicit information on mental health issues that is used to provide appropriate support. (SK)

Discusses the effectiveness of using focus groups with children to explore their information-seeking behavior and describes a study that organized focus groups with children to determine their opinions on currently available Web-based portals designed for children, and how they might be improved. (Author/LRW)

Provides advice on conducting focus-group research in institutions of higher learning based on experiences with groups of university business-school students. Lists and discusses steps in focus group research, including determining research questions, determining sampling frames, selecting moderators, developing a discussion guide, recruiting…

Focus groups arranged by local Native American Master Gardeners on two Minnesota reservations determined community interest in extension-horticulture programs. Topics of interest included food preservation and historical Native-American uses of plants. (SK)

Issues involved in adapting the focus group process for low-income adults and children of Hispanic and Caucasian ethnicity include kinds of incentives, selection of location, participant recruitment and eligibility, question development, and number of groups to conduct. Children's attention span, cultural and linguistic differences, and child care…

Proposes a taxonomy of functions for direct reports of speech (and of writing and thought) in focus-group discussions. Reported speech both depicts the experience of the original utterance and detaches the reported utterance from the reporting speaker. (Author/VWL)

Research on academic dishonesty has generally relied on survey techniques, which may fail to capture students' true feelings about cheating. The present investigation uses focus group discussions to gain a fuller understanding of students' beliefs about academic dishonesty. The results suggest that, in regard to their cheating, students generally…

Investigates the telegraphed emotion of "the look," a feature of adolescent social interaction that can quickly initiate or escalate conflict. Using focus groups, teenage females were asked to define the look and to discuss its use and the consequences. Results indicate that the look often results in escalation of conflict, especially a…