<P><EM>Focus Groups: From Structured Interviews to Collective Conversations</EM> is a conceptual and practical introduction to focus group. As the title indicates, focus groups traditionally encompass a wide range of discursive practices. These span from formal structured interviews with particular people assembled around clearly delimited topics to less formal, open-ended conversations with large and small groups that can unfold in myriad and unpredictable ways. Additionally, focus groups can and have served many overlapping purposes-from the pedagogical, to the political, to the traditionally empirical. In this book, focus groups are systematically explored; not as an extension or elaboration of interview work alone, but as its own specific research method with its own particular affordances. This book comprehensively explores:</P>
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<LI><EM>The nature of focus groups</EM></LI>
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<LI><EM>Politic and activist uses of focus groups</EM></LI>
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<LI><EM>Practical ways to run a successful focus group</EM></LI>
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<LI><EM>Effective analysis of focus group data</EM></LI>
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<LI><EM>Contemporary threats to focus groups</EM></LI>
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<P><EM>Focus Groups: From Structured Interviews to Collective Conversations</EM> is essential reading for qualitative researchers at every level, particularly those involved in education, nursing, social work, anthropology, and sociology disciplines.</P>