Summer Quarter Report
Appendix 7
Background and Methods
Student Focus Group Research Final Report
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Background
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Objectives
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Methodology
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Limitations of the Focus Group Methodology
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Group Composition
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Focus Group Recruiting
This research was commissioned by the University of Washington Summer Quarter
Committee. The committee has been considering alternative uses of summer quarter,
including the possibility of transforming summer quarter to a full academic
quarter structured like autumn, winter, and spring quarters.
The objectives of the student focus groups were to:
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Identify attitudes, perceptions, and key issues of concern regarding
summer quarter among
matriculated undergraduate students.
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Examine preferred summer quarter characteristics and identify potential
incentives to support
the implementation of a full academic summer quarter.
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Provide input for the design of a survey questionnaire including statement of
issues and possible solutions from the students perspective.
Focus groups are a qualitative research technique that allow researchers to
observe a group of individuals and to explore issues in an in-depth way. It is
generally regarded as exploratory and is often conducted to assist in survey
design. In particular, focus groups help to ensure that a wide range of issues
are represented in the survey questionnaire, that no key issues are overlooked,
and that questions are worded using the constituent groups vocabulary and frame of
reference.
Limitations of the Focus Group Methodology
It is important to note that there are some limitations associated with focus
groups. Even though groups are carefully recruited to reflect the demographic
characteristics of the population being examined, focus groups only include the
opinions of a small number of people. The results are not statistically
projectable to the population as a whole. Consequently, focus group research is
regarded as exploratory and preliminary rather than conclusive.
Group Composition
In order to identify issues of importance to students at different points in their
undergraduate careers, one group was composed of sophomores and three groups were
composed of seniors. Each group was composed of an equal of number of individuals
who had and had not taken summer quarter. The groups break down as follows:
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Group I: Sophomores
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Group II: Seniors from the College of Arts and Sciences
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Group III: Seniors from the College of Engineering
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Group IV: Seniors from the School of Business Administration
Focus Group Recruiting
All of the focus group participants were recruited by University of Washington
Educational Outreach staff. Within each group, stringent controls were
established to ensure that a diversity of viewpoints was represented. This mix
was achieved through a series of screening questions posed during the recruiting
process. Targets were designed to approximate the demographic makeup of each
group. A copy of the screening questionnaire is provided in the appendix.
Following are the characteristics considered for each group:
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Major
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Number of times major has changed (if any)
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Gender
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Receipt of financial aid
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Number of times attended summer quarter (if any)
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Residency status (in-state or out-of-state)
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Transfer student or non-transfer student
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Working and not working during the school year
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Number of hours currently working during school year (if any)
A number of strategies were implemented to guarantee high participation rates.
All participants were sent confirming letters with directions to the focus group
facility. They also received reminder calls the night before the groups, and were
paid $35 to thank them for their time. Eleven students participated in one group
and ten students participated in the remaining three groups. A topic guide or
script detailing the questions and exercises to be completed was used to
facilitate the discussion. The topic
guide is included in the appendix.
Summer Quarter Report
Appendix 7
