“It was fun... but we don’t usually talk about these things”: Analyzing Sociable Interaction in Focus Groups

Abstract

Focus groups are a useful method for sociological research because the sociable interaction that is generated can yield rich insight into people’s life worlds. This is because the nature of the talk that is generated in focus groups is a mixture of personal beliefs and available collective narratives that are further flavored by the local circumstances of participants’ lives. The interactions between participantsin focus group discussions characteristically comprise layers of talk and present researchers with complex analytical tasks. In addition to what participants say about themselves, analysis and interpretation of focus group data must pay attention to the content and form of interaction between participants. This article discusses and illustrates how sociable interactions from focus groups were analyzed for insights into classed contexts for romantic relationships.