Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Social Science Computer Review
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Schneider, S. J.
Right arrow Articles by Vivari, B. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Characteristics of the Discussion in Online and Face-to-Face Focus Groups

Sid J. Schneider

Westat, sidschneider{at}westat.com

Jeffrey Kerwin

Westat, jeffreykerwin{at}westat.com

Joy Frechtling

Westat, joyfrechtling{at}westat.com

Benjamin A. Vivari

Westat, bavivari{at}wam.umd.edu

Focus groups are widely used in qualitative research. Recently, focus groups that are held online have become increasingly popular despite the objection by some researchers that the Internet is a poor medium for focus group research. The present study was conducted to reveal differences in the characteristics of focus group discussions in the online and face-to-face formats. Participants in 4 online focus groups and 4 face-to-face focus groups discussed their opinions about several health-related Web sites. Statistical analysis of the transcripts suggested that online participants tended to contribute shorter comments and were more likely to say just a few words of agreement. In the online focus groups, participation levels tended to be more uniform; in the face-to-face groups, some participants tended to contribute a disproportionately large number of words, whereas other participants were relatively silent. The results suggest different roles for online and face-to-face focus groups in qualitative research.

Key Words: focus group • cyberspace • online research

Social Science Computer Review, Vol. 20, No. 1, 31-42 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/089443930202000104
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Social Science Computer ReviewHome page
M. Tremayne, Xin Chen, N. Figur, and J. Sonia Huang
Perceived Authority and Communication Channel: Experiments with Instant Messaging
Social Science Computer Review, May 1, 2008; 26(2): 178 - 189.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Social Science Computer ReviewHome page
C. Underhill and M. G. Olmsted
An Experimental Comparison of Computer-Mediated and Face-to-Face Focus Groups
Social Science Computer Review, November 1, 2003; 21(4): 506 - 512.
[Abstract] [PDF]