QUALITY DESIGN OF FOCUS GROUPS IN EARLY-CHILDHOOD SPECIAL-EDUCATION RESEARCH

Interest is growing in the contributions of qualitative research to the field of early childhood special education. One qualitative method, focus groups, is examined. This article discusses what types of early childhood special education questions might be addressed in focus groups and suggests guidelines by which to consider the quality of design of focus group use in early childhood special education research. Four key questions are explored that aid in designing and judging focus group research. These include: (a) Who should participate in the focus groups? (b) What checks on credibility should we include? (c) How shall we maintain research stability while allowing for an emergent design? and (d) How will the information gained in the focus groups inform us about the general phenomenon?