The focus groups in this research included three groups of six to nine student volunteers, which allowed for personal assessments, reactions, and comments to be collected from individual students. The student volunteers were from the Department of Radio, Television, and Film, College of Business, and School of Music at the University of North Texas. These departments are representatives from the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business Administration, and College of Music, respectively, which account for approximately 65% of the students enrolled at the University of North Texas. The focus group with College of Business majors was held on Thursday, April 15, 2004 at 3:00 p.m. The focus group with Radio, Television, and Film majors was held on Monday, April 19, 2004 at 3:00 p.m. The focus group with College of Music majors was held on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 at 4:30 p.m. This study did not claim validity as being representative of the colleges and universities in the United States, nor of students from the University of North Texas. It simply was designed as a pilot study to evaluate the potential of measuring the moral reasoning of online music sharers. The researcher felt students from the three schools represented an adequate cross-section of students for a pilot study.

Because this thesis is using the focus groups as part of a pilot study, which is not meant to be a representative sample of students at the University of North Texas, the author of this thesis chose to use a sample of convenience, rather than a purposive sample. The student participants in this study were selected using a snowball sampling approach. In applying the snowball effect, the researcher asked several individual students to participate in the focus group. After receiving their acceptance to the invitation, the researcher requested they bring along 1-2 friends or fellow students from within their same college or major.

Each person who participated in one the focus groups was given a name tag with a five-digit pre-assigned identification number already displayed. This five-digit pre-assigned identification number coincided with the number on the test instruments each participant was given. The number was used to ensure the survey and Defining Issues Test were associated with the same participant. The participants were then reminded the discussion section of the focus group would be audio recorded for transcription purposes. The researcher indicated to the participants exactly where the audio recording equipment was located.

The participants were then each presented with an information letter (see Appendix H) which explained in detail how the data collected during the focus group session would be used. They were also informed of their rights as research participants, and how to contact the author of the thesis and the UNT Institutional Review Board (IRB), if they had any future questions or concerns. The information letter explained to the participants the discussion session would be recorded, but only for the purpose of transcribing and providing individual quotes for the thesis work. The information letter stressed no names would be used in the thesis and the audio recording from the focus group would not be physically included with the thesis work, nor publicly played at the thesis defense or any other form of public performance.

The participants were then given the survey regarding music piracy (see Appendix A) and asked to answer the questions as honestly as they possible could. The survey contained instructions which informed individuals the survey was designed to measure their perceptions regarding online music piracy and informed them their answers were voluntary and would remain anonymous. The survey was comprised of various statements regarding online music piracy and the participants were provided a Likert Scale and asked to rank the level to which they agreed or disagreed with the statements. Each statement included a Likert Scale with the options of 1) Strong Agree, 2) Agree, 3) Undecided, 4) Disagree, and 5) Strongly Disagree. The participants were asked to place a check mark next to the answer which best represented their personal feelings or attitudes toward a particular statement.

Participants were then issued the Defining Issues Test (DIT-2)¹ . The DIT-2 is a device for activating moral schemas to the extent a person has developed them, and for assessing them in terms of importance judgments (University of Minnesota, 2003a). The DIT-2 contained dilemmas, fictional stories, and questions which presented the participants with a means of rating and ranking the items in terms of their moral importance.

After the Defining Issues Test had been conducted, the researcher moderated a discussion with the participants regarding their feelings and perceptions toward online music piracy, anti-piracy tactics, and where they saw the issue of music piracy in the future. After the discussion period was concluded, the focus group was adjourned. The Defining Issues Tests were then sealed in an envelope and sent to the Center for the Study of Ethical Development at the University of Minnesota for coding. After the coding of the Defining Issues Test had been completed, The Center for the Study of Ethical Development at the University of Minnesota returned a diskette and paper report by mail to the author.

The author then recorded the results in an electronic database software program called SPSS 12.0 for Windows. This software program allowed the researcher to perform a statistical analysis of the survey results. The author then compared the DIT-2 results to the online music sharing survey results, using the SPSS 12.0 for Windows software. Correlations between the two tests were identified which could indicate links between the moral judgments of a respondent and his/her perceptions and attitudes toward online music piracy.