ABSTRACT
Unlike text-based analysis, which is centered on what a text itself is doing, this chapter provides the methods that are all concerned with human interaction, perception, and reception. Ethnography is a kind of “participant observation” that embeds researchers within a social group; interviews are deep discussions with a strategic sample of individuals, and focus groups are broader conversations with small groups. The interviewer may unconsciously hint at their personal attitudes about a topic, which often results in influencing a participant’s response. Think of primary questions as the main points of an interview guide outline. They introduce each distinct topic researchers hope to cover in their interview. The process for creating focus groups is fairly similar to that for creating interviews, but sometimes it gets a little more challenging because researchers' trying to work around many people’s schedules. In many cases, researchers' estimate around four to five people per focus group, although many use much larger numbers.
