From Inquiry to Academic Writing A Practical Guide, 3rd edition

336 CHAPTER 11 | OTHER METHOdS Of InquIRy: InTERvIEwS And fOCuS GROuPS

3. Place quotations from more than one source in as many paragraphs as
   you can, so that you can play the quotations off against one another.
   What is significant about the ways you see specific quotations “in con-
   versation” with one another? How do these conversations between
   quotations help you build your own argument?


4. Consider possible counterarguments to the point you want to make.


5. Help readers understand what is at stake in adopting your position.

Using FocUs groUPs

Like interviews, focus groups can provide you with an original source of

evidence to complement (or complicate, contradict, or extend) the evidence

you find in books and articles. According to Bruce L. Berg in Qualitative

Research Methods for the Social Sciences, a focus group “may be defined

as an interview style designed for small groups... addressing a partic-

ular topic of interest or relevance to the group and the researcher.” Col-

lege administrators often speak with groups of students to understand the

nature of a problem — for instance, whether writing instruction is as effec-

tive as it should be beyond a first-year writing course, or whether technol-

ogy is used to best effect in classes across the curriculum. One advantage

of a focus group, as opposed to an interview, is that once one person starts

talking, others join in. It is generally easier to get a conversation going in a

focus group than to get an interview started with a single person.

As a method, focus groups provide a supportive environment for dis-

cussing an issue that people may feel less comfortable talking about in

an  interview. The conversations that emerge in focus groups may also

Steps to Interviewing

■^1 Plan the interview. After you’ve identified the people you might

like to talk to, contact them to explain your project and set up

appointments if they are willing to participate.

■^2 Prepare your script. Draft your questions, rehearse them with

your classmates or friends, and then make revisions based on

their responses.

■^3 Conduct the interview. Be flexible with your script as you go, mak-

ing sure to take good notes even if you are recording the interview.

■^4 Make sense of the interview. Review the recording and your

notes of the interview, transcribe the interview, analyze the tran-

script, and connect the conversation to at least one good source.

■^5 Turn your interview into an essay. State your argument, organize

your evidence, use quotes to make your point, consider counterar-

guments, and help your readers understand what’s at stake.

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