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Task 3.2: Continue Research and Conduct a Focus Group

You and your teammates have been asked to continue your research on the genetic modification of muscles as well as to conduct a focus group on the topic.

Reminder: In your research you may encounter theological or religious arguments, particularly regarding ethics. Remember that you have been asked to avoid this line of discussion in any of your deliverables.

The steps below will help you with your task.

• Note: The steps below do not need to be completed sequentially. Work in the order best suited both to your style and schedule for this task.
  
  
• Review the General Skills Resources link (in the left menu), particularly on references and citations, to understand what resources are available to you. You may refer to these resources as you complete your work to help keep track of what you find in your research.

Contents of this step-by-step guide: (click an item to jump to that section)

• Project Management
  
  
• Continue Research
  
  
• Focus Group
  
  
• Develop Outline for Final Report
  
  
• Reconvene with Your Team
  
  
• Review and Submit Your Work
  

Project Management (back to top)

Part of your job in this rotation involves working with your team to:

• Determine what tasks need to be accomplished
  
  
• Assign specific work to individual people
  
  
• Monitor what progress has been made
  
  
• Keep track of what still needs done
  

1. Keep the same project manager as in the last task. The project manager will rotate at the next topic.
   
   
   • Refer to the step-by-step guide in task 3.1 for more detailed information on project management.
     
     
2. Review the email from Dr. Woodrow to clarify your understanding of what is being asked of you. Keep in mind how this task fits into the main projects.
   
   
   • Your team discussion may identify questions you have about these topics or additional points you want to research to include in the main projects for this rotation.
     
     
3. With your team, discuss what needs to be accomplished and who is responsible for each item. Keep in mind that one area may require more work than others and to divide tasks accordingly. It may be helpful to look through the steps below to get a better feel for what needs to be done.
   
   
4. Use the status report template your team created in the previous task to document what needs to be completed and who is responsible for its completion.
   
   
   • The project manager needs to submit the completed status report of the team at the end of this task.

Continue Research (back to top)

The work throughout this rotation is to complete projects in three general areas:

• Team presentations (one on each of the three topics and on concluding presentation
  
  
• Team debates (one for each topic, no conclusion)
  
  
• A final report from each individual participant

Keep these things in mind as you conduct your research to help determine what information is useful and how it might be used.

Tip: If you complete your work and are ahead of schedule consider planning ahead for future work.

1. Research any open issues that your team identified in the previous task or that were discussed with your mentor.
   
   
• If you are having difficulty finding information consult with your teammates to see if they can help you find what is needed. If you’re still having trouble, talk with your mentor.
  
  
2. Think of other areas that are related to the genetic modification of muscles that you don’t encounter in your research. There may be points that other people haven’t brought up yet that are valid. Use the information you have on the science and ethics, both specific to the topic and in general, to support your ideas.
   

• Conduct research as needed to bolster your positions.

Focus Group (back to top)

You need to conduct a focus group to gather people’s views on the issue around genetically modifying muscles.

1. Review the Resources link (above) for information on what a focus group is and what is involved in conducting a focus group.
   
   
• Conduct additional research on focus groups as needed to plan the focus group you are responsible for organizing. Look for ways to avoid the mistakes people commonly make in conducting a focus group.
  
  
2. Review your notes from your previous focus group, for areas of potential improvement. This may include areas that did not run smoothly previously that you want to work the bugs out of, or areas that did run well and you want to improve even more. As you go through the process of recruiting people and conducting your focus group, incorporate the changes as needed.
   
   
   • Completing tasks multiple times in this rotation gives you a chance to hone your skills. Putting in effort to improve will help you grow and develop new skills.
     
     
3. If you have not already done so, schedule a time and place to hold the focus group. Give the members of the group adequate notice beforehand, and give yourself enough time to complete research before conducting the session.
   
   
4. Finish recruiting people for the focus group, focusing your attention on those who meet the selection criteria you generated in the previous task.
   
   
   • Note: Although some resources suggest offering an incentive to recruit focus group participants, you do not need to. Do what you can to recruit voluntary participants. If you’re having difficulty finding people talk with your team or mentor for ideas.
     
     
   • If you’re having trouble finding enough people who fit the criteria and are willing to participate, you may need to discuss the issue with your team and/or adjust your criteria.
     
     
5. Review the list of topics you have been asked to cover. You may add topics based on the research you’ve completed.
   
   
6. Finalize preparations for your focus group including determining how you are going to conduct it, what you need for your chosen structure, and how you are going to record the information.
   
   Tip: Using audio or video recording equipment (if available) can help minimize delays from taking notes, reduce the loss of data, and keep things moving forward. Make sure to let the focus group participants know why the equipment is being used and how the recordings will be used, whether to collect quotes to be used as part of the presentation to Congress or even just for accurate record-keeping.
   
   
   • Put together the information you plan to present to the focus group, rehearsing it to ensure you have enough mastery of the material to describe it clearly.
     
     
     • While you need to be prepared to discuss all the main points you discovered in your research, you also need to be flexible. Expect to modify the information you present based on the views and knowledge of the people you have selected for your focus group.
       
       
7. Conduct the focus group using the information from your research and the attachment in Dr. Woodrow’s previous email as a guide. Use your research and notes to make improvements.
   

• Use your research to guide the discussion in the focus group. People may have views about genetic modification of muscles that are related to one type (e.g., germ line or cloning) that are different than what you want to focus on at a given time (somatic gene therapy). Make clarifications and give information as needed to tease out people’s views on the different topics.
  

Tip: Pay attention to what ethical arguments people bring up in discussing the questions. While many people may not explicitly identify the ethical perspective they come from, the arguments they make can be good indications of such. Watch how people with different perspectives react to information can help you in your work (e.g., preparing for the debate).

8. Write a summary report of the focus group, addressing the points Dr. Woodrow identified for the first focus group.
   
   
   • The focus group report can take a variety of forms, including a narrative, an outline, using a table, or a combination of methods. Choose the format you feel best captures the information.
     
     Tip: Use previous work (i.e., your previous focus group summary) as a guide. Be sure to make improvements as you see fit.
     
     
9. Answer the questions under the Reflect on what you learned tab (above).

Develop Outline for Final Report (back to top)

1. Organize and prioritize the information you found during your research regarding genetically modified foods. Determine what information is critical, what is important, and what information may not be necessary.
   
   
2. Expand your outline that you developed for the final report previously to include information on GM foods. The information you actually use for the report will likely evolve as you work through the rest of the rotation and the outline can be a rough draft for this stage of research.
   
   
   • In addition to adding new information, you may want to revisit the information on GM pets and make updates based on your new information.
     
     
   • If needed, look at the General Skills Resources (in the left menu) under “Writing” for a refresher on creating a good outline.

Reconvene with Your Team (back to top)

1. Meet with your team to discuss the information each person found, any questions or issues the research uncovered, any issues that weren’t fully resolved, and what needs to be done to answer any issues that still need to be addressed, and other points as determined by your team.
   
   
   • Discuss with your team the information you were responsible for and what you believe should be included in the presentation.
     
     
   • Tip: There can be a lot to learn when one person believes information should be included and another doesn’t. Keep the conversation open to disagreement in order to uncover important points that may otherwise be missed.
     
     
   • Discuss the focus groups each person ran, including a summary of what selection criteria (if any) were used in the end, people’s views and questions, points that went well, and problems you ran into. You and your teammates may have ideas on how to avoid these problems in your future focus groups.
     
     
     • Note: Depending on when your team reconvenes and the individual scheduling of the focus groups, not everyone may have completed their focus group together. If so, you can save the in depth discussion with your team about the focus groups for the next task.
       
       
2. Together, revise your rough outline to include information from your additional research and from the focus groups that may be useful for the presentation.
   
   
   • While your outline may change before it is finalized, the content and order need to be getting closer to what your team plans on using to develop the presentation.
     
     
   • Include information that people disagree on and note accordingly. You can make modifications as you get deeper into it, adding or removing points as needed.
     
     
3. Project manager only: Update your team status report detailing the progress that was made and what still needs to be accomplished.

Review and Submit Your Work (back to top)

1. Review your work.
   
   
   • Did you conduct adequate research to address any open issues and questions from your previous round of research?
     
     
   • Did you take thorough notes of the information you came across in your research and where you found it?
     
     
   • Does your focus group summary capture the main details you learned from the group?
     
     
   • Did you use all the research and focus group data to inform your development of your report outline?
     
     
   • Did your team work together refine the outline for the presentation?
     
     
   • Did you provide a thoughtful response to the reflection questions?
     
     
   • (Project Manager) Did you update your team status report to reflect the current state of progress?
     
     
2. Submit your work.
   

• Review the checklist located in the Submit Your Work section of this task to ensure completion of the task before submitting your deliverables to your mentor.
  

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Task 3.2 Resources

There are no new content-specific resources for this task. Use the General Skills Resources link (in the left menu), relevant resources from previous tasks, other resources you have available to you, and/or conduct your own research to find the information you need to complete this task.