title: Semi-Structured Interviews and Focus Groups

authors: Longhurst, Robyn

abstract: A semi-structured interview is a verbal interchange where one person, the interviewer, attempts to elicit information from another person by asking questions. Although the interviewer prepares a list of predetermined questions, semi-structured interviews unfold in a conversational manner offering participants the chance to explore issues they feel are important. A focus group is a group of people, usually between 6 and 12, who meet in an informal setting to talk about a particular topic that has been set by the researcher. The facilitator keeps the group on topic but is otherwise non-directive, allowing the group to explore the subject from as many angles as they please. This chapter explains how to go about conducting both semi-structured interviews and focus groups whether they be in-person or online. These two methods share some characteristics in common but are distinct. They can be used separately or together. Our review traces some of the early work in contemporary geography that used these methods, especially from feminist perspectives, but also highlights recent scholarship to demonstrate the evolution and creative vibrancy of this work over time.

text: Semi-Structured Interviews and Focus Groups A semi-structured interview is a verbal interchange where one person, the interviewer, attempts to elicit information from another person by asking questions. Although the interviewer prepares a list of predetermined questions, semi-structured interviews unfold in a conversational manner offering participants the chance to explore issues they feel are important. A focus group is a group of people, usually between 6 and 12, who meet in an informal setting to talk about a particular topic that has been set by the researcher. The facilitator keeps the group on topic but is otherwise non-directive, allowing the group to explore the subject from as many angles as they please. This chapter explains how to go about conducting both semi-structured interviews and focus groups whether they be in-person or online. These two methods share some characteristics in common but are distinct. They can be used separately or together. Our review traces some of the early work in contemporary geography that used these methods, especially from feminist perspectives, but also highlights recent scholarship to demonstrate the evolution and creative vibrancy of this work over time.

year: 2023-05-13

title: New Zealand outdoor recreation benefits

authors: Kaval, Pamela

subjects: non-market valuation

abstract: Millions of people participate in outdoor recreation activities in New Zealand every year. Economic recreation studies in the country concentrate mostly on market values. Market values only present part of the outdoor recreation benefit; while non-market values represent the other part. In this study, a meta-analysis is used to determine the non-market benefit of recreation. Results show non-market benefits from outdoor recreation to be over five billion dollars annually, exceeding market benefits of approximately four billion. New Zealand non-market values were then compared to those from a United States recreation database and results were favourably similar.

text: New Zealand outdoor recreation benefits Millions of people participate in outdoor recreation activities in New Zealand every year. Economic recreation studies in the country concentrate mostly on market values. Market values only present part of the outdoor recreation benefit; while non-market values represent the other part. In this study, a meta-analysis is used to determine the non-market benefit of recreation. Results show non-market benefits from outdoor recreation to be over five billion dollars annually, exceeding market benefits of approximately four billion. New Zealand non-market values were then compared to those from a United States recreation database and results were favourably similar.

year: 2007-08

title: Sharing, listening, learning and developing understandings of Kaupapa Māori research by engaging with two Māori communities involved in education.

authors: Kana, Fred

subjects: Kaupapa Maori research methodology

abstract: This paper is a culmination of common understandings that were elicited from two pieces of research: ‘The Impact of the BHP New Zealand Steel Mining on the Tangata Whenua and the Environment’ and ‘The Impact of Maori Medium Education within a Mainstream Secondary School on the Lives of its Participants, in particular the Teachers, Caregivers and Students’. It was at the conclusion of each research project and as a consequence of informal conversations and discussions that this paper evolved. The paper discusses shared understandings in the context of Kaupapa Māori research methodology and key findings from the two research projects.

text: Sharing, listening, learning and developing understandings of Kaupapa Māori research by engaging with two Māori communities involved in education. This paper is a culmination of common understandings that were elicited from two pieces of research: ‘The Impact of the BHP New Zealand Steel Mining on the Tangata Whenua and the Environment’ and ‘The Impact of Maori Medium Education within a Mainstream Secondary School on the Lives of its Participants, in particular the Teachers, Caregivers and Students’. It was at the conclusion of each research project and as a consequence of informal conversations and discussions that this paper evolved. The paper discusses shared understandings in the context of Kaupapa Māori research methodology and key findings from the two research projects.

year: 2006