14.3

3). Pick one concept from the assigned reading, that we have not already discussed, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

Focua groups, which are used when one wants to "find detailed, thorough, and unstructured answers to problems" (Harris, 2008, p. 206), is my chosen "interesting topic" for the week. The reason I chose this topic is two-fold; one, every one of us already participated in a focus group as the facilitator in our Group Facilitation projects earlier in the semester, and, two, I'm about to participate in a focus group next week for another class, as we are conducting exit interviews. We see focus groups all over the place, for example, as the book says, they're used in marketing and advertising, juries/lawyers, political and campaign usage, etc. After reading the description for focus groups, I realized there's one very popular focus group on TV: The American Idol judges. I've never seen the show, but I think this qualifies as a focus group. The judges discuss a topic, each musical performer's ability to sing, as they identify and examine various "themes" in the singer's performance, and while they each discuss what they liked/disliked about each performance. Focus groups can be very helpful when you need further insight and discussion on a topic, and the fact that it's recorded in someway helps so you can go back and listen to it again.