The focus group: a tool for programme planning, assessment and decision‐making—an American view*

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to describe the focus group process used with hospital librarians in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Southwest Region (NN/LM/PSR), in order to illustrate how focus groups can be effectively used in the library setting to plan programmes around identified needs. This paper explores the focus group methodology, a qualitative research technique, by discussing why it is used and the process involved in its use. Aspects of the methodology that are discussed include participant selection, question development, data analysis, and use of results in programme planning. The focus group findings assisted NN/LM/PSR in understanding the needs of hospital librarians related to integrating electronic resources into library services. The focus group data were used to determine the forum, content and speakers for a day-long symposium and subsequent planning meeting. The use of the focus group technique to assess the needs of a specific group on a specific issue resulted in activities and programmes that met these needs successfully. Based on the experiences detailed in this paper, the authors are confident that focus groups are an effective tool for programme planning, needs assessment and decision-making for all types of libraries.

A Framework and Approach for Analysis of Focus Group Data in Information Systems Research

“…Previous methodology literature (e.g., Glitz et al, 2001;Grønkjaer et al, 2011;O'hEocha et al, 2012) and our experience show that complete focus group transcripts and complete presentation of its analysis are typically complex and lengthy-especially when they include non-verbal data. In addition to presenting an approach for analyzing focus group data, our framework presents a set of examples of how one can succinctly and effectively present excerpts from focus group data.…”

“…Such systems are popular foci for information systems (IS) research, much of which uses the focus group method. Examples include user behavior in social networks (Hundley & Shyles, 2010), the evaluation of e-service quality of libraries (Einasto, 2014), consumer social interaction and online group buying behavior (Zhang & Gu, 2015), artifact refinement and evaluation in design (Tremblay, Hevner, & Berndt, 2010), and group decision making and planning (Glitz, Hamasu, & Sandstrom, 2001). However, compared with the abundance of guidelines on how to plan and conduct focus groups (e.g., Liamputtong 2011;Stewart & Shamdasani, 2014;Wilkinson, 2004), there is little methodological literature on how to analyze focus group data (e.g., Grønkjaer, Curtis, Crespigny, & Delmar, 2011;Halkier, 2010;Kitzinger, 1994;Onwuegbuzie et al, 2009;Vicsek, 2007) in the IS and social science literature.…”

Developing a Health Screening Questionnaire for Women in Welfare Transition Programs in the United States

“…In CBPR, FGs are particularly useful for engaging community members in interactive discussions to ensure that their views and preferences are integrated into the research intervention. They are also highly effective when designing health screening tools because views of the particular community under study are more likely to be represented (Glitz, Hamasu, & Sandstrom, 2001;Krueger & Casey, 2000;Merton, Fiske, & Kendall, 1990;Vanslyke et al, 2008).…”

Solving problems through circles

“…To improve inter-rater reliability (Detmar et al, 2006;Glitz, Hamasu, & Sandstrom, 2001), one author identified themes from the questionnaires completed by the participants who had taken part in a SC and the second author identified themes from the questionnaires completed by the participants who had taken part in a CoA. The two authors then re-grouped and reached a consensus on organising and basic themes (Attride-Stirling, 2001).…”