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The Hidden Advantages Of Focus Group Interviews In Educational Research, Lisa Shoaf, Michael Shoaf

Lisa M. Shoaf

In the field of education, success of a school system has traditionally been determined through quantitative methods, such as through scores on achievement tests and survey results. In short, the quantitative method can determine if a school is failing or not. However, it does not answer the question of why a school is failing, a particularly important question for school administrators who hope to make positive changes in their districts. Focus group research, or qualitative analysis, is an underutilized method for gathering data in schools. Focus group methodology offers a more in-depth understanding of participants' perceptions than do quantitative measures …