Data Collection: Focus Groups And Interviews

By Author: Mark Gary
Total Articles: 61

During focus group 1 the tweens were given the scenario of a new kid (of their age) moving to their neighborhood. The tweens were asked to describe what everyday life would be like for the new tween and what types of Juicy Couture Necklaces things she or he would need to know. Then the tweens were asked to discuss how the following information sources would be used:
Peers with whom the tween is close
Peers with whom the tween is not close
Adults with whom the tween is close (mainly family, teachers)
Adults with whom the tween is not close
Web sites
Television
Books and magazines

Focus group 1 ended with the tweens identifying the information grounds that their new neighbor might utilize. As explained by Karen Fisher and Charles Naumer [41], information grounds are social settings where people go for a particular purpose/activity (e.g., to get a bike fixed, to get a haircut, to eat, or to play a sport) but wind up sharing information in the course of interacting with other people. During focus group 2, the tweens were asked to expand on the information grounds previously identified in terms of how frequently one would go there, who else would be present, what one would talk about, what one liked about it, and so forth. Tweens were also asked to explain under what circumstances the sources discussed in focus group 1 would not be used to seek information. In the individual interviews, tweens were asked to Juicy Couture recount a recent incident in which they sought non-school-related information as well as a time when they shared non-school-related information with someone.

The recounts were based on Dervin's [38] sense-making, micro-moment time line approach. The tweens were also asked to explain how they manage or keep track of all the everyday information that they pick up personal information management is a key area of research interest across all populations, and little is known about the practices of youth as most efforts have focused on work domains [47, 48]. To end the interviews, the tweens were asked to explain why they agreed or disagreed with ten generalizations regarding tweens and information that were purposively designed to be thought-provoking. For example, tweens were asked to respond to the statement: "Parents can answer any question a preteen might have."