Using focus groups to assess student needs

Abstract

Purpose -Reports methodology and findings of focus groups conducted at Utah state university to assess students' needs in the library's new information commons. Design/methodology/approach -A joint committee of computer services personnel and librarians, with assistance from undergraduate library peer mentors, undertook a series of focus groups with participants from the Utah state university student population. The goals were to assess the undiscovered needs of students and students' preferences in a new library. Findings -After the focus group responses were organized into eleven categories, we recorded several key traits and sets of comments from our user population; our users spend a good deal of their study time in the library either working individually or as a group, participants differ in their preferences for seeking help in the library, and participants consider noise levels and adequate space to study important concerns. Practical implications -By following a few standard procedures, focus groups can be a useful format for collecting data regarding patrons' needs and interests in the library. Focus groups can help library staff plan for and design new intellectual and physical spaces in the library. Originality/value -This paper will be useful to academic librarians planning an Information Commons or other services in the library, or librarians interested in assessing their users' needs through focus groups.

Exploring the consumption of charity-linked products

“…There are very interesting papers that use focus group research. They concern with the children's cultural worries (MacMullin and Odeh 1999), children's perception of smoking (Porcellato et al 2002), reasons for switching from the main food source (Wrigley et al 2004), students needs (Fagerheim and Weingart 2005) or library service quality (Satoh et al 2005), and the service quality perceptions (Crowley and Gilreath 2002).…”

Asymmetric Procurement in the Public Sector

“…Focus groups facilitate multi‐voiced interaction between individuals (Engestrom, 1999) and enable the researcher to probe and develop understanding (Fagerheim and Weingart, 2005; Rose‐Anderssen et al ., 2010; Curseu et al ., 2012). The focus group lasted 45 minutes and consisted of the five managers responsible for the two departments.…”

Not a Blank Slate: Information Literacy Misconceptions in First-Year Experience Courses

“…Researchers have also used focus groups to determine student perceptions of library resources and services. For example, Voelker (2006) ran focus groups with students in two first-year learning communities to learn more about first-year students and their needs, and Fagerheim and Weingart (2005) conducted focus groups with students to understand their perceptions of the library. Focus groups have also been used to understand the library needs of students who are deaf and hard of hearing (Saar & Arthur-Okor, 2013) and Indigenous university students (Hare & Abbot, 2015).…”