Are focus groups old fashioned? No way.

 Judy Langer, one of the founders of the Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA) and a highly respected qualitative researcher responded to an article in Fast Company touting "new" research methods (neuroscience) and criticizing traditional types of focus group research.  Here is the original Fast Company article. Her response which appeared on her Facebook page follows:

" Sigh. Just about everyone who touts a "new"
(sometimes not really new) qualitative method uses "traditional" focus
groups as a straw man.  "We get insights through our wonderful method
that we would never have gotten any other way, just believe us," the
argument goes.  It used to be that the quants attacked qual but now the
attacks come from other qualies as a way to promote their services.
Besides the fact that so-called traditional focus groups have often been
valuable, this ignores the trend to deeper focus group methods.  Too
bad."