David L. Morgan is a professor emeritus in Department of Sociology at Portland State University. He is a sociological social psychologist, who is widely known for his work on focus groups, including his book, Focus Groups as Qualitative Research, and as coauthor of The Focus Group Kit. In addition, he has worked extensively on mixed methods, including a book for SAGE, Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Methods. Most recently, he has published Essentials of Dyadic Interviewing for Routledge, and A New Era in Focus Group Research, co-edited, with Rosaline Barbour, for Palgrave.
The extensively revised edition of the bestselling Focus Groups as Qualitative Research continues to provide an excellent guide for researchers across the disciplines. Reflecting the many changes that have occurred in the study of focus groups in recent years, the book begins with an updated introduction offering a discussion of current social science approaches to focus groups. Expanded coverage on the comparison of focus groups to individual interviews follows, and there is more material on the strengths and weaknesses of focus groups. The section on self-contained focus groups has also been expanded. Subsequent chapters have been revised to include examples from social scientists who have established their own practices and methodological research on focus groups. In conclusion the author offers future directions and references that take into account the explosive growth of focus groups as a research tool for all social scientists.
