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Focus Groups for the Social Science Researcher: A Book Review from a Beginning
Researcher’s Perspective

Article in The Qualitative Report · January 2022

DOI: 10.46743/2160-3715/2022.5629

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 The Qualitative Report

Volume 27 Number 5 Book Review 3

5-1-2022

Focus Groups for the Social Science Researcher: A Book Review

from a Beginning Researcher’s Perspective
R. Suzanne Legg
University of South Florida, suzanne@dayspringacademy.org

Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr

Part of the Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons

Recommended APA Citation

Legg, R. S. (2022). Focus Groups for the Social Science Researcher: A Book Review from a Beginning
Researcher’s Perspective. The Qualitative Report, 27(5), 1193-1195. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/
2022.5629

This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the The Qualitative Report at NSUWorks. It has
been accepted for inclusion in The Qualitative Report by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more
information, please contact nsuworks@nova.edu.
Focus Groups for the Social Science Researcher: A Book Review from a
Beginning Researcher’s Perspective

Abstract
Focus Groups for the Social Science Researcher: Methods for Social Inquiry, by Jennifer Cyr (2019), is an
essential research tool for the first-time researcher who is utilizing focus groups. The book breaks the
information down into digestible bites and spirals the material reiterating the major points to ensure
understanding. For a beginning researcher, this is a thorough resource for guidance in establishing
effective research questions to yield usable data that may be coded and themed in a usable format.
Readers will find a descriptive walk through the focus group process, from start to finish giving the
reasoning for the focus group process. This is an easy yet informative read for those beginning the
qualitative research process utilizing focus groups.

Keywords
focus groups, qualitative research, analysis, coding, interview

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International
License.

This book review is available in The Qualitative Report: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol27/iss5/3

The Qualitative Report 2022 Volume 27, Number 5, 1193-1195
https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2022.5629

Focus Groups for the Social Science Researcher:

A Book Review from a Beginning Researcher’s Perspective

R. Suzanne Legg
University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA

Focus Groups for the Social Science Researcher: Methods for Social Inquiry,
by Jennifer Cyr (2019), is an essential research tool for the first-time researcher
who is utilizing focus groups. The book breaks the information down into
digestible bites and spirals the material reiterating the major points to ensure
understanding. For a beginning researcher, this is a thorough resource for
guidance in establishing effective research questions to yield usable data that
may be coded and themed in a usable format. Readers will find a descriptive
walk through the focus group process, from start to finish giving the reasoning
for the focus group process. This is an easy yet informative read for those
beginning the qualitative research process utilizing focus groups.

Keywords: focus groups, qualitative research, analysis, coding, interview

Focus Groups for the Social Science Researcher: Methods for Social Inquiry, by
Jennifer Cyr (2019), provides an introduction to utilizing focus groups in qualitative research.
The introduction provides a definition of focus groups as defined by Morgan (1996), “a
research technique that collects data through group interaction on a topic determined by the
researcher” (p. 130). The author, Cyr, emphasizes that the purpose of focus groups is to
understand the “substance” (p. 2) of what people say, what they think, and why they think it.
Cyr provides a brief history of focus groups. She reiterates the importance of focus groups by
highlighting three different types of analysis: the individual, the group, and the interaction
between the two (Cyr, 2019). The author expands on this concept in detail, stressing the
purpose and importance of all three sources of data and the difference in the data that can be
obtained from each.
The author outlines when and how to use focus groups with a strong emphasis on the
research question at the center. The research question, according to Cyr (2019), informs the
purpose of the study, the participants included, and the data intended to be collected. Focus
groups are used when there is little data existing regarding the research question. The open-
ended format of the focus group questions provides a wide net for data to be explored. The
versatility of the focus group is portrayed as an asset, again referring to the individual
perspective, the collective perspective from the group, and the interaction between them both.
There are challenges associated with using a focus group to collect data, which the book
mentions as well. Cyr (2019) highlights the “human factor” as a challenge to the focus group
process. The training of the moderator and careful attention to the protocol that is used are ways
to mitigate the human factor. The author walks through several human issues that may occur
and how to work through them. For example, groupthink was highlighted first. Groupthink is
when the whole group agrees on an issue even if individually the participants would not agree.
Other human factors to be aware of are mentioned, such as hostility and passivity, and Cyr
provides tools with which the moderator can mitigate these hiccups and refocus the group.
These elements of group interviewing are essential for a new researcher to be aware of and
know how to move past obstacles such as these during the focus group sessions.
1194 The Qualitative Report 2022

Cyr (2019) provides several exemplars throughout each chapter as references for those
who are new to the focus group method. This practical application is a strength of the book.
The reiterative delivery of the content in the book is extremely helpful for clarification and
reteaching and is another strength of the text. However, this also could be viewed as a weakness
to the proficient researcher who desires more depth and creativity to the focus group method.
The text is easy to read, which is a benefit, but may be lacking complexity for the experienced
researcher. For the reader who is new to focus group research, this book can be a useful guide
before or during the assembly of focus groups, creation of focus group questions, or even when
trying to decide if the focus group’s method of inquiry fits a certain research design. The
content offered is helpful in refining strategies and maximizing the benefits of engaging a focus
group.
A sample protocol (Cyr, 2019, p. 116) is provided as a tool for previewing wording that
can be used and the format of the questions. Also, there is a helpful sample script included with
the protocol for the moderator, which can be adapted to any focus group. A list of data analysis
software is provided in the appendix with a brief description of each product, how it can be
used, and its strengths and weaknesses. Five products were listed: Atlas.ti (https://atlasti.com/),
HyperRESEARCH (http://www.researchware.com/products/hyperresearch.html), MAXQDA
(https://www.maxqda.com/), NVivo (https://www.qsrinternational.com/nvivo-qualitative-
data-analysis-software/home), and QDA Miner
(https://provalisresearch.com/products/qualitative-data-analysis-software/).
As a doctoral student at the University of South Florida, a research institution, I am a
new researcher. I am currently learning about many different types of inquiry. I chose focus
groups as my method for my current research in order to extract the essence of the strategies
enacted in the classroom that yield the most just and most effective outcomes for all learners.
Leading in a deductive analysis manner, I approached the inquiry with predetermined codes in
mind; however, while reading this book, I considered the organic manner of the data more
extensively and adjusted the focus group questions accordingly. Cyr’s (2019) book affirmed
what I had gleaned from Kamberelis and Dimitriadis (2013) that focus groups are “collective
conversations or group interviews,” expanded on the definition, and provided tools to refine
my focus group features.

References

Cyr, J. (2019). Focus groups for the social science researcher: Methods for social inquiry.
Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316987124
Kamberelis, G., & Dimitriadis, G. (2013). Focus groups: From structured interviews to
collective conversations (1st ed.). Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203590447
Morgan, D. (1996). Focus groups. Annual Review of Sociology, 22(1), 129-152.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.22.1.129

Author Note

R. Suzanne Legg is a doctoral student at the University of South Florida. Suzanne is a

co-founder of Pasco County's first charter school. Suzanne has served at the charter school for
22 years. For further information, please contact R. Suzanne Legg at robynsuzanne@usf.edu.

Copyright 2022: R. Suzanne Legg and Nova Southeastern University.

 R. Suzanne Legg 1195

Article Citation

Legg, R. S. (2022). Focus groups for the social science researcher: A book review from a
beginning researcher’s perspective. The Qualitative Report, 27(5), 1193-1195.
https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2022.5629

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