Hocus Pocus Alamagocus!! The magic of the focus group.

Last week we analyzed a SSHRC with an amazing hook and an interesting topic. My group discussed the cyborg research SSHRC.  I really liked her perspective on the research, especially since she mentioned that she is part of a group that could benefit most from sociological and ethical research on the cyborgization of people with physical disabilities.  She clearly outlined a gap in the research since there is "little information on the ethical and sociological implications of biotechnological modifications in individuals with physical disabilities". I just wonder how she will formulate her researcher, what methodologies will she use to gather information?

This week's Lunt and Livingstone reading discussed the validity of focus groups, the validity of the findings that stem from focus groups and how to interpret focus group findings. They did an excellent job explaining the issues in conducting focus groups including the position of the researcher and moderator, the dynamic of the group and the various discursive truths and meanings that can be produced based on the seemingly infinite combinations. Different combinations of people within focus groups produce different findings and construct different meanings and discourses which is referred to in the reading as "the dilemmatic nature of everyday arguments". Often times when findings are produced and made public these layers of back ground complexity remain hidden and obscured. I guess what I have gathered from this reading is that maybe researchers should focus on providing a context for their research findings. There should be a detailed methodological outline alongside their findings in order to contextualize findings of the research, including a self-reflexive analysis of the researcher and focus group mediator, a detailed composition of the groups, justification for why the focus groups are comprised in the manner that they are in order to contextualize the findings. While the information gathered from focus groups can be rich and complex, with so many layers of complexity and opportunities for information and findings to be obscured I have to admit I'm pretty skeptical about doing research using this method, sorry to be a Debbie downer...