Book Review

David W. Stewart and Prem N. Shamdasani. Focus Groups: The-

ory and Practice. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1990. 153 pp.,
indices, paperback.

Focus Groups: Theory and Practice, by David Stewart and Prem N.

Shamdasani, is a concise, useful and complete primer on the subject of
focus-group development. In today’s information-hungry research en-
vironment, where relatively small information gains may result in a
competitive advantage, focus-group research is widely practiced. Stew-
art and Shamdasani give a generous overview of focus-group utilization
and application. Their book begins where it should — it explains the be-
ginning of focus-group use, and traces its history as a research tool. The
book will serve the needs of academicians and practitioners who use
focus-group studies as an adjunct to their research efforts.
The introduction, which traces the historical use of focus groups, con-
tains information that researchers often do not obtain when learning
research methods. Indeed, much research instruction contains ample
methodology coverage, but seldom touches on the historical progression
and uses of such methods. The birth of formal focus-group – type re-
search, as described in the book, sets the stage for the material that
follows.
Later chapters cover group dynamics, recruiting participants, respon-
sibilities of moderators, hints on conducting a successful group effort,
and analysis of the data obtained. A chapter on focus groups in practice,
detailing what is likely or potentially able to occur, is included. Indeed,
in this chapter the authors make the point that 50 years of focus-group
efforts have advanced the art to the point where a group may be con-
sidered a “well-established and rigorous tool of science,” because this
method has proven to be more than capable of producing useful knowl-
edge — a litmus test of such tools (p. 123).
The authors correctly point out that there have been other books that
offer practical knowledge of focus-group applications. The current work
differs from the others in that it seeks to combine social science research,

Psychology & Marketing Vol. 16(4):369–372 (July 1999)

q 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CCC 0742-6046/99/040369-04
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especially as it concerns group dynamics, with the design, collection,
and interpretation of the qualitative data available through the correct
use of such group data-collection efforts.
The authors emphasize that focus-group research can be especially
useful in exploratory research, a point that will surprise few knowl-
edgeable in research methodology. However, the authors mention other
uses to which focus groups may be applied — uses that will surprise
many and offer them avenues of application that previously may have
been overlooked. Among these uses would be as facilitators in the in-
terpretation of quantitative data obtained through formal survey re-
search or as a confirmatory test of hypotheses. Other uses of focus
groups in the research process are presented. The advantages of focus-
group utilization are discussed and, as one might expect of a complete
treatise, the limitations of focus-group research efforts are also in-
cluded.
The authors’ treatment of group dynamics as such relate to focus
groups is a good one. Concerns and advantages relative to the use of
strangers in focus groups are presented, as is the use of acquaintances.
The impact of the moderator and other factors on data collection and
completeness are presented.
A refreshing insight, often overlooked, appears under a heading en-
titled, “Establishing the Research Agenda,” in the chapter on recruiting
participants. Stewart and Shamdasani mention that focus groups are
too often used as a substitute for thinking. They emphasize what every
primer on research emphasizes, and that is that formal research should
begin with an understanding or statement of the problem. This problem
formulation should drive your research, and the use of focus groups
when applicable, not the other way around. Wisely, the authors warn
against what one may refer to as letting the tail wag the dog.
Analysis of focus-group data is discussed at length in the chapter
entitled, “Analyzing Focus Group Data.” A variety of methods are pre-
sented and contrasted. Indeed, the authors summarize clearly a variety
of methods that can be employed in the conduct of qualitative data anal-
ysis. Researchers using focus groups to collect data, especially explor-
atory data, will want to read this chapter.
In the chapter, “Focus Groups in Practice,” the authors give pertinent,
real-life examples where focus groups can be or have been used suc-
cessfully. From improving public acceptance of a presidential trip to
Russia to minimizing wasted advertising dollars, the authors provide
legitimate examples of focus-group application. At the same time, Stew-
art and Shamdasani warn that focus groups should not be used when
the research methodology requires survey or experimental data; nor
should survey data or experimental data be utilized when focus-group
data is applicable.
In their concluding chapter, the authors reiterate that focus-group
research methods should be utilized when appropriate. The knowledge

370 BOOK REVIEW

of when such efforts are appropriate begins with an understanding of
the problem and the potential tools for addressing the problem. There
is a ring of truth to the authors’ contention that some researchers seem
to rely on one data research method, to the exclusion of others. Such an
exclusion may hinder the research process.
Focus Groups: Theory and Practice is listed as Volume 20 of the Ap-
plied Social Research Methods Series of Sage Publications. It is a com-
prehensive presentation and treatment of focus-group research. It is a
recommended read for academicians and researchers conducting mar-
keting or social science research.

Reviewed by MICHAEL C. BUDDEN, Auburn University Montgomery,

Montgomery, AL.

Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln, Editors. Handbook of

Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1994, 586
pp., indices (ISBN 0-8039-4679-1-cloth).

Denzin and Lincoln have assessed the methodological landscape of the

social sciences and noted the rising importance of ethnography, unstruc-
tured interviewing, textual analysis, historical studies, and other meth-
ods of qualitative research. They concluded the field lacked a volume
representing its entirety. Their Handbook of Qualitative Research at-
tempts to fill a void in the field, “to take stock of how far it has come, to
make predictions about where it will be a decade from now, [and] to
assess and present major paradigms, histories, strategies, and tech-
niques of inquiry and analysis that qualitative researchers now use.”
The editors have done an admirable job of assembling 36 well-written
articles, each with extensive references, in a volume divided into six
parts.
Their introduction, “Entering the Field of Qualitative Research,” de-
fines the field, lays out the conceptual framework for the book, and re-
views the history of qualitative research.
Part I, “Locating the Field,” surveys the history of the ethnographic
tradition from the ancient Greeks. The traditions are classified and their
implications for applied research analyzed. Five ethical positions that
confront qualitative researchers are presented and discussed.
Part II is an examination of the “Major Paradigms and Perspectives”
that structure and organize the field of qualitative research: positivism,
postpositivism, constructivism, and critical theory and related positions.
Part III, “Strategies of Inquiry,” addresses the two issues that must

BOOK REVIEW 371

be addressed in the planning of any investigation: research design and
choice of strategy of inquiry. Various influences on the design process
and selection of who or what will be studied are discussed. The inquiry
strategies discussed include: case study; ethnography and participant
observation; phenomenology, ethnomethodology, and interpretative
practice; grounded theory; the biographical method; the historical
method; applied and action research; and clinical models.
Part IV, “Methods of Collecting and Analyzing Empirical Materials,”
discusses the practices and methods employed by qualitative research-
ers. These methods include the interview, observational methods, read-
ing material culture and its records, visual methods, personal ex-
perience methods, data management and analysis methods,
computer-assisted qualitative analysis, and narrative, content, and se-
miotic analysis.
Part V, “The Art of Interpretation, Evaluation, and Presentation,”
discusses the application of standard criteria for evaluating scientific
research to the particular case of qualitative research studies, the spe-
cial requirements of qualitative research, and the art and politics of
interpretation. This section includes a discussion of qualitative program
evaluation and a discussion of the researcher’s role in influencing policy
with qualitative research.
The concluding section, Part VI, “The Future of Qualitative Re-
search,” is an elaboration on the authors’ thoughts about the next gen-
eration of qualitative research.
Denzin and Lincoln achieved their goals. They have addressed a void
in the literature with a volume that represents a distillation of knowl-
edge in the field. Their Handbook of Qualitative Research is truly a
benchmark that synthesizes the existing literature and helps to define
the discipline. Their goal was to provide the volume one would take to
a desert island (or use to study for a comprehensive graduate exami-
nation) if one could take only one book on qualitative research. Although
they have achieved this goal, one could argue the volume is not really
a “handbook,” or ready reference for the qualitative researcher who has
been told to “Just do it!” (p. 83). Fortunately (or, unfortunately, depend-
ing on your point of view), the number of opportunities for conducting
qualitative research on a desert island is about the same as the number
of opportunities for a comprehensive examination. A handbook isn’t
likely to be needed for either situation. Perhaps a better title would have
been Philosophical Issues in Qualitative Research. A handbook? No. An
encyclopedic reference book containing a plethora of information, per-
spectives, and insight in qualitative research? Yes.

Reviewed by THOMAS F. GRIFFIN, III, Auburn University-Montgomery,

Montgomery, AL 36117.

372 BOOK REVIEW