Abstract
The aim of the present article is twofold First, it tests and demonstrates the supplementary use of focus groups to construct quantitatively oriented survey on anti-minority sentiment. Second, it clarifies two major theoretical concepts-prejudice versus perceived threat-in the research on discriminatory attitudes towards minority populations. More specifically, by using data from focus group discussions on foreign workers in Israel, the study examines the use of such groups for measurement of prejudice and perceived threat within the social and cultural context of Israeli society. The analysis of focus group discussions provides adapted questionnaire scales for measuring prejudice and perceived threat. The findings support the premise that prejudice and perceived threat are two distinct theoretical concepts.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Al-Haj M., Rosenfeld H.: Arab Local Government in Israel. International Center for Peace in the Middle East, Tel Aviv (1988)
Allport G.W.: The Nature of Prejudice. Addison-Wesley, Cambridge, MA (1954)
Bobo L.: Group conflict, prejudice, and the paradox of contemporary racial attitudes. In: Katz, P., Taylor, D.A. (eds) Eliminating Racism: Profiles in Controversy, pp. 85–114. Plenum Press, New-York, NY (1988)
Bobo L.: Race and beliefs about affirmative action. Assessing the effects of interests, group treat, ideology, and racism. In: Sears, D.O., Sidanus, J., Bobo, L. (eds) Racialized Politics: The Debate About Racism in America, pp. 137–164. The University Chicago Press, Chicago (2000)
Bobo L., Hutchings V.L.: Perception of racial group competition: extending Blumer’s theory of group position to multiracial social context. Am. Sociol. Rev. 61, 951–972 (1996)
Coenders M., Gijsberts M., Scheepers P.: Resistance to the presence of immigrants and refugees in 22 countries. In: Gijsberts, M., Hagendoorn, L., Scheepers, P. (eds) Nationalism and Exclusion of Migrants: Cross-National Comparisons, pp. 97–120. Ashgate, Aldershot (2004)
Converse J.M., Presser S.: Survey Questions: Handcrafting the Standardized Questionnaire. Sage, Beverly Hills (1986)
Fetzer J.S.: Public Attitudes toward Immigration in the United States, France, and Germany. Cambridge University Press, New York, NY (2000)
Fuller T.D., Edwards J.N., Vorakitphokatorn S., Sermsri S.: Using focus groups to adapt survey instruments to new populations: experience from a developing country. In: Morgan, D.L. (eds) Successful Focus Group: Advancing the State of the Art, pp. 89–104. Sage, Newbury Park, CA (1993)
Henry P.J., Sears D.O.: The symbolic racism 2000 scale. Polit. Psychol. 23, 253–283 (2002)
Hughes D., Dumont K.: Using focus groups to facilitate culturally-anchored research. Am. J. Community Psychol. 21, 775–806 (1993)
Kemp A., Raijman R., Resnik J., Gesser S.S.: Contesting the limits of political participation: Latinos and black African migrant workers in Israel. Ethn Racial Stud 23, 94–119 (2000)
Kinder D.R., Sears D.O.: Prejudice and politics: symbolic racism versus threats to the good life. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 40, 414–431 (1981)
Krueger R.A.: Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA (1994)
Kunovich R.M.: Social structural position and prejudice: an exploration of cross-national differenced in regression slopes. Soc. Sci. Res. 33, 20–44 (2004)
Lewin-Epstein N., Semyonov M.: Arabs in Israel’s Economy: Patterns of Ethnic Inequality. Westview Press, Boulder, CO (1993)
Morgan D.L.: Focus groups. Annu. Rev. Sociol. 22, 129–152 (1996)
Morgan D.L.: Focus Groups as Qualitative Research. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA (1997)
Nassar-McMillan, S.C., Borders, L.D.: Use of focus groups in survey item development. The Qualitative Report 7(1) http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR7-1/nassar.html (2002). Accessed December 2006
O’Brien K.: Improving survey questionnaires through focus groups. In: Morgan, D. (eds) Successful Focus Groups: Advancing the State of the Art, pp. 105–117. Sage, London (1993)
Olzak S.: The Dynamics of Ethnic Competition and Conflict. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA (1992)
Patton M.Q.: Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. Sage, Newbury Park, CA (1990)
Pettigrew T.F.: Prejudice. In: Thermostrom, S. (eds) The Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Group, pp. 820–829. The Belknap Press, Cambridge, MA (1980)
Pettigrew T.F.: Reactions toward the new minorities of Western Europe. Annu. Rev. Sociol. 24, 77–103 (1998)
Pettigrew T.F.: Systematizing the predictors of prejudice. In: Sears, D.O., Sidanius, J., Bobo, L. (eds) Racialized Politics: The Debate about Racism in America, pp. 280–301. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL (2000)
Pettigrew T.F., Meertens R.W.: Subtle and blatant prejudice in Western Europe. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol. 25, 57–75 (1995)
Quillian L.: Prejudice as a response to perceived group threat: population composition and anti-immigrant and racial prejudice in Europe. Am. Sociol. Rev. 60, 586–611 (1995)
Raijman R., Kemp A.: State and non-state actors: a multi-layered analysis of labor migration police in Israel. In: Korn, D. (eds) Public Policy in Israel, pp. 155–173. Lexington Books, Lanham, MD (2002)
Raijman R., Semyonov M., Schmidt P.: Do foreigners deserve rights? Determinants of public views toward foreigners in Germany and Israel. Eur. Sociol. Rev. 19, 379–392 (2003)
Raijman R., Semyonov M.: Perceived threat and exclusionary attitudes towards foreign workers in Israel. Ethn. Racial Stud. 27, 780–799 (2004)
Rosenhek Z.: Migration regimes, intra-state conflicts, and the politics of exclusion and inclusion: migrant workers in the Israeli welfare state. Soc. Probl. 47, 49–67 (2000)
Scheepers P., Gijsberts M., Coenders M.: Ethnic exclusionism in European countries: public opposition to civil rights for legal migrants as a response to perceived ethnic threat. Eur. Sociol. Rev. 18, 17–34 (2002)
Schnapper D.: The debate on immigration and the crisis of national identity. West Eur. Polit. 17, 127–139 (1994)
Sears D.O., Kinder D.R.: ‘Whites’ opposition to busing: on conceptualizing and operationalizing group conflict. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 48, 1141–1147 (1985)
Semyonov M., Raijman R., Yom-Tov A.: Labor market competition, perceived threat, and endorsement of economic discrimination against foreign workers in Israel. Soc. Probl. 49, 416–431 (2002)
Semyonov M., Raijman R., Yom-Tov A., Schmidt P.: Population size, perceived threat, and exclusion: a multiple-indicators analysis of attitudes toward foreigners in Germany. Soc. Sci. Res. 33, 681–701 (2004)
Semyonov M., Raijman R., Gorodzeisky A.: The rise of anti-foreigner sentiment in European societies, 1988–2000. Am. Sociol Rev. 71, 426–449 (2006)
Smooha S.: Minority status in an ethnic democracy: the status of the Arab minority in Israel. Ethn. Racial Stud. 13, 389–413 (1990)
Sniderman P.M., Hagendoorn L., Prior M.: Predispositional factors and situational triggers: exclusionary reactions to immigrant minorities. Am. Polit. Sci. Rev. 98, 35–49 (2004)
Stewart D.W., Shamdasani P.N.: Focus Groups: Theory and Practice. Sage, Newbury Park, CA (1990)
Verberk G., Scheepers P., Felling A.: Attitudes and behavioral intentions towards ethnic minorities: an empirical test of several theoretical explanations for the Datch case. J. Ethn. Migr. Stud. 28, 197–219 (2002)
Wimmer A.: Explaining xenophobia and racism: a critical review of current research approaches. Ethn. Racial Stud. 20, 17–41 (1997)
Wolff B., Knodel J., Sittitrai W.: Focus groups and surveys as complementary research methods: a case example. In: Morgan, D.L. (eds) Successful Focus Groups: Advancing the State of the Art, pp. 89–104. Sage, Newbury Park, CA (1993)
Zeller R.A.: Focus group research on sensitive topics: setting the agenda without setting the agenda. In: Morgan, D.L. (eds) Successful Focus Groups: Advancing the State of the Art, pp. 167–183. Sage, Newbury Park, CA (1993)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gorodzeisky, A. Focus groups as a tool in the construction of questionnaires: the case of discriminatory attitudes. Qual Quant 45, 1217–1231 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-009-9287-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-009-9287-y