ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an introduction to focus group methodology, reviews its history and uses, compares it to related methods, addresses its strengths and limitations, and considers ethical concerns. Focus groups most closely resemble two other qualitative methods: open-ended interviewing and participant observation. As with open-ended interviews, focus group moderators approach groups with a protocol of questions and encourage participants to focus on an identified topic. Focus groups continue to play a central role in marketing practices and have been embraced by political communication researchers. Researchers who embrace a constructivist approach have employed focus groups to observe the social construction of meaning and to listen to how groups interpret new information in light of their own attitudes and values. The acclaim can be attributed to both a desire to understand how individuals understand political life as well as to increased media attention to focus group method in political campaigns.
