Focus group interviewing in the library literature

Abstract

Purpose -Focus group interviewing, an important social science research methodology dating to the 1920s, is currently experiencing renewed popularity worldwide. This paper aims to review the implementation of this qualitative assessment tool as it relates to the library environment. The article is designed to stimulate the use of focus groups in librarianship and to demonstrate the range of positive applications across various activities within this field, such as administration, cataloging, reference, internet, and other areas. The goal is to bolster recognition that this data-gathering technique can be utilized to achieve a variety of goals. Design/methodology/approach -A comprehensive search of online databases was conducted in library science and in numerous other social sciences, given the interdisciplinary nature of the topic. The salient monographic and journal literature was selected and annotated. A number of standard handbooks, textbooks, references sources, and scholarly articles were consulted to provide the background information found in the introductory essay. Findings -The paper finds focus group interviewing can be successfully employed in a wide range of endeavors within librarianship. Relative to the other social sciences, to date libraries have underutilized the approach. Originality/value -This research may be useful for librarians, library administrators, and others who are involved in planning and conducting a focus group project in order to appraise the quality of library programs, services, and policies. No other article provides this level of in-depth review and evaluation through copiously annotated entries covering the spectrum of use throughout the library literature.

Chinese Students’ Motivations for Overseas versus Domestic MLIS Education: A Comparative Study between University of Tsukuba and Shanghai University

“…For this reason, student participants' responses might not have been entirely neutral or representative of the student populations under investigation. 33 Therefore, participants who agreed to take part in this research should be assumed to be particularly motivated, eager, and confident to share their personal experiences and opinions (that is to say, including their educational and family backgrounds, as well as other personal information, for example, their career aspirations, and the like). As a result, these interview participants might not necessarily represent a "typical" respondent but may be only one small spectrum of motivation.…”

“…As a result, these interview participants might not necessarily represent a "typical" respondent but may be only one small spectrum of motivation. 34 Furthermore, there are many alternative ways to study the motivations of individuals to choose an MLIS degree program or a university. However, this study was based solely on qualitative interviews with two very small groups of MLIS students enrolled at SHU and UT.…”

Motivations for choosing librarianship as a second career among students at the University of British Columbia and the University of Hong Kong

“…As Walden (2006) notes, participants must be able and willing to contribute, and to be comfortable discussing the topic at hand. The inevitably self-selecting nature of participants points to one of the possible limitations of this project: it is not an entirely neutral or representative section of the student populations under investigation.…”

Student Services in the 21st Century: Evolution and Innovation in Discovering Student Needs, Teaching Information Literacy, and Designing Library 2.0-Based Services

“…Through their conversations the participants often suggest new services that organizations can offer, ways that the organization can improve a service, how to more effectively market services, and most importantly, the basis for their recommendations. 37 A recent article by Graham Walden offers the following points that a librarian should consider when designing a focus group: 38 • Group Size-As a general rule, discussion groups should contain between two and fourteen participants in order to have a robust discussion. Keep in mind that smaller groups are dominated by outspoken individuals and larger groups sometimes lack group cohesion.…”