This case study describes the design and implementation of scenario-based focus groups run by a collaborative research team consisting of eight individuals spread across eight institutions within the United States. Originally intended to be face-to-face, the research team pivoted mid-study to adapt the scenario design for the fully online…

This case study explores the advantages and limitations of conducting focus groups online. Though virtual focus groups have long been positioned as supplemental or inferior alternatives to in-person focus groups, this case study emphasizes the flexibility, accessibility, and possibility of conducting focus groups virtually. Providing examples from…

In winter 2011, I traveled to 12 communities located throughout the state of Idaho to moderate focus groups with teachers, parents of kindergarten-to-12th-grade (K-12) students, and community members with no children in K-12 education. The focus groups were conducted the first year of a 5-year study using multiple methods to explore the cultural…

This highly readable text demystifies the qualitative research process--and helps readers conceptualize their own studies--by organizing the different research paradigms and traditions into coherent clusters. Real-world examples and firsthand perspectives illustrate the research process; instructive exercises and activities build on each other so…

Based on Penn State's popular "Innovation Insights" series, this book brings together in one handy reference nearly a decade of tried and true insights into continuous quality improvements in higher education. Their five-step model for integrating planning, assessment, and improvement moves plans off the shelf and into the weekly and daily…