One thing the research industry is blessed with is a wealth of reference material on the tools and techniques of the trade. Whether it’s online research or customer sarisfaction chances are someone somewhere has written a good book on the subject.

The most recent foray into the qualitative realm, Qualitative Market Research, by Hy Mariampolski, seems to have the answer to just about any question one could raise about focus groups and the art of moderation.

Mariampolski is managing director of QualiData Research, Inc. in New York and has decades of study and practice of qualitative research. In keeping with his background, Mariampolski writes in a tone that’s scholarly but still quite readable. There’s a lot of good information here and it’s communicated with clarity.

The subhead of the book is "a comprehensive guide," and it certainly lives up to that billing. It’s organized into four sections: "Understanding Qualitative Research," "Managing Qualitative Research," "Group Moderation and Interviewing Techniques," and "Qualitative Analysis, Reporting and Internal Communications."

Seemingly every aspect of qualitative is covered, and a helpful appendix features reference material such as sample screeners, project briefs, discussion and observation guides, and a moderator evaluation form.

Both qualitative research buyers and practitioners will benefit from reading the book. For the buyers/users, it offers insights into the world of focus group moderating - an endeavor that skilled moderators, like professional golfers, make look deceptively easy. Only after trying it do you realize how truly hard it is!

The section on group moderation and interviewing techniques, for example, explains the many different things a moderator must do during a group (i.e., don’t play favorites, probe effectively, keep the discussion flowing, read respondent body language, handle unruly participants, communicate with the back room) and offers tips on how to do them well.

Throughout the book, buyers/users of qualitative research will find information that will help them get more out of the research they’re buying, such as tips on note-taking for observers.

I’ve also encountered researchers who seem to feel that focus group recruitment is another easy task; they give the facility bad specs and expect a miracle. Well, to those folks I suggest a reading of Mariampolski’s chapter on creating an effective and foolproof screener. Granted, the research buyer isn’t the one who does the screening and recruiting, but this brief chapter outlines the process and should help buyers make sure their specs are well-defined and not impossible to fill.

For those new to qualitative research, Mariampolski provides an exhaustive overview in the section titled "Understanding Qualitative Research" of the many facets of qualitative, from focus groups to dyads, defining each approach and outlining how and where it can be used.

But the book is best suited to those who provide moderating services, either to internal clients or as a livelihood. If you’re good at what you do, you’ll no doubt be familiar with much that’s here. But if you’d like to hone your skills, you’ll definitely fred good lessons in the book. Flip to the chapters such as "What Are We Looking For," "Thinking Creatively," "Playing the Moderator Role," and "Projective and Elicitarion Techniques" to see what I’m talking about.

Qualitative Market Research (312 pages, $33), by Hy Mariampolski, is published by Sage Publications. For more information visit www.csagepub.com.