Focus group interviewing in the library literature

Reference Services Review - 2006
Graham R.Walden1
1University Libraries, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA

Tóm tắt

PurposeFocus 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/approachA 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.FindingsThe 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/valueThis 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.

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Tài liệu tham khảo

Bogardus, E.S. (1926), “The group interview”, Journal of Applied Sociology, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 372‐84.

Bryman, A. (2004), “Focus groups”, Social Research Methods, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, New York, NY, Chapter 16.

Calder, B.J. (1977), “Focus groups and the nature of qualitative marketing research”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 353‐64.

Gillespie, R.M. (1992), “A test of the external validity of focus group findings using survey research and statistical inference”, PhD dissertation, Iowa State University, Ames, IA.

Glynn, G.J., Herbst, S., O'Keefe, G.J., Shapiro, R.Y. and Lindeman, M. (2004), “Methods for studying public opinion”, Public Opinion, 2nd ed., Ch. 3, Westview Press, Boulder, CO, pp. 73‐115.

Goldman, A.E. and McDonald, S.S. (1987), The Group Depth Interview: Principles and Practice, Prentice‐Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Kitzinger, J. (1994), “The methodology of focus groups: the importance of interaction between research participants”, Sociology of Health, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 103‐21.

Lederman, L.C. (1990), “Assessing educational effectiveness: the focus group interview as a technique for data collection”, Communication Education, Vol. 39 No. 2, pp. 117‐27.

Merton, R.K., Fiske, M. and Kendall, P.L. (1956), The Focused Interview: A Manual of Problems and Procedures, Report of the Bureau of Applied Social Research, Columbia University, Free Press, Glencoe, IL.

Merton, R.K. and Kendall, P.L. (1946), “The focused interview”, American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 51 No. 6, pp. 541‐57.

Morgan, D. (1997), Focus Groups as Qualitative Research, 2nd ed., Sage Publications, London.

Persico, C. and Heaney, T.W. (1986), “Group interviews: a social methodology for social inquiry”, ERIC ED275915, Proceedings of the Adult Education Research Conference, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

Stewart, D.W. and Shamdasani, P.N. (1990), Focus Groups: Theory and Practice, Sage Publications, London.

Ziff, K. (1990), “Focus group ‘art’ reveals in‐depth information”, Marketing News, Vol. 24 No. 18, pp. 7‐20.

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