Tvisebrivi meTodebi socialur kvlevaSi - Center for Social Sciences

interviews. An example of a discussion guide is presented in the appendix, which can help
students to work on their own guide;
2) to conduct 3 in-depth interviews based on this guide, and to discuss the process of
conducting these, specifically focusing on the difficulties they encounter;
3) the students are also required to transcribe one of these interviews – the one they
think was the most successful.
The most important and/or typical experiences reported by the students will be
discussed during next meeting.
Required readings for this week are:
Robert S. Weiss. 1994. Learning from Strangers. The Art and Method of Qualitative
Interview Studies. New York: Free Press. Pp. 121-150 (“Issues in Interviewing”).
H. Russel Bernard. 2002. Research Methods in Anthropology. Qualitative and
Quantitative Approaches. Third edition. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. Pp. 206-220
(“Unstructured Interviewing”).
gabriele kapai. 2000. “biografiul-naratiuli interviu: Teoriuli
winamZRvrebi da gamoyenebis xerxebi.” (Targmani wignidan: Gabriele Cappai. 2000. Fra
realtà locale e processi globali. Emigrazione, associanismo ed identità nelle società
multikulturali. Halle/Saale: Hallescher Verlag).
Recommended readings:
Robert S. Weiss. 1994. Learning from Strangers. The Art and Method of Qualitative
Interview Studies. New York: Free Press. Pp. 61-120 (“Interviewing”).
H. Russel Bernard. 2002. Research Methods in Anthropology. Qualitative and
Quantitative Approaches. Third edition. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. Pp. 449-488
(“Some Traditions of Text Analysis”).
Gail Kligman. 1998. The Politics of Duplicity. Controlling Reproduction in Ceausescu’s
Romania. Berkley: University of California Press. Pp. 148-205 (“Bitter Memories: The Politics
of Reproduction in Everyday Life”).
С. Белановский. 2000. Глубокое интервью. М.: Никколо М., 2000.
Week 3.
Focus Groups
Lecture, 2 hours; discussion, 2 hours
We discuss focus group as a “group in-depth interview,” which, however, has several
specific features, which are determined, first of all, by the fact that up to a dozen of
respondents participate in a single focus group discussion. The greatest advantage of focus
groups as a qualitative research method is that it gives the researchers the possibility to
observe the process of forming group judgments and/or decisions.
A short review of the historical development of the focus groups in the social
sciences focuses on Robert K. Merton’s and his colleagues’ work in this field. Major areas of
use of focus groups in contemporary research practice are reviewed, namely, marketing
research, social and political research; these are the areas where focus groups proved to be
most effective, while there are some areas where it is not usually recommended to use focus
groups – e.g., personal relationships; income.
In the section devoted to the main features of this method, we discuss distinctiveness
of focus groups, technical aspects of their preparation, selection of participants, and advises
regarding how to conduct them, specifically focusing on the role and functions of the
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