Focus Group as a Tool for Research in Libraries
A Bibliographic Survey by Dr.
Mohamed Taher
This bibliography is dedicated to a pioneer, Patricia
M. Cavill,
who introduced me to this market research method in Librarianship
| What
is a Focus Group: |
Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia: A focus group is a
form of qualitative
research in which a group of people are asked about their attitude
towards a product, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Questions
are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to
talk with other group members. In the world of marketing,
focus groups are an important tool for acquiring feedback regarding new
products, as well as various topics.
ODLIS: Online Dictionary for Library and
Information Science:
A small group of people assembled by a researcher
to identify through informal discussion the key issues and/or themes
related to a research
topic, often to
facilitate development of a more quantitative methodology, such as a survey.
An effort may be made to select a representative sample of the larger
cohort used in subsequent research. Focus groups are sometimes used in library
research and strategic
planning, for example, to determine user needs and preferences in the
development of a technology
plan. The technique is also used extensively in business for
qualitative research on consumer behavior. Online
focus groups are used in the evaluation of Web-based
services. |
This bibliography is a sample of the existing printed
literature -- eighty citations published between 1986 and 2005. The themes, in
this list, include acquisitions, collection development, marketing, information
literacy, use, and user studies, customer satisfaction, etc., in public,
academic, special (i.e., scientific, health and business libraries). The
arrangement is chronological, and among others is intended to show the growth
pattern, if any, as well as, acceptability, adaptation and contribution of this
method in data collection. While, capturing the scattered literature is the
purpose here, two steps are necessary and may be considered in future: first,
annotate, and second evaluate these citations to identify some significant core
areas and directions - applying both qualitative and quantitative methods.
.Also, there must be a Canadian survey of print, online
and digital
resources.
2005:
-
Effect
of Internet Book Reviews on Purchase Intention: A Focus
Group Study. The
Journal of Academic Librarianship v. 31 no. 5
(September 2005) p. 461-8
-
Huber, J. T., et. al., F2F
Connection: a community health information needs assessment of Texas families
who have children with chronic illnesses and/or disabilities and their care
providers. Journal of the Medical
Library Association v. 93 no. 2 (April 2005) p.
278-81
-
Lee,
D. Can
You Hear Me Now? Using Focus Groups
to Enhance Marketing Research. Library
Administration & Management v. 19 no. 2
(Spring 2005) p. 100-1
-
Roddy, K. Community
profiling. Library & Information
Update v. 4 no. 5 (May 2005) p.
40-1
2004:
-
Elhard,
K. C., et. al., Shifting
focus: Assessing cataloging service through focus
groups. Library
Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services v.
28 no. 2 (2004) p. 196-204
-
Dickson, V. Collaboration
plus! The development of an information literacy and communication program.
Australian Library Journal v.
53 no. 2 (May 2004) p. 153-60
-
Harris,
P., et. al., What
It Means to Be "In-Between": A Focus
Group
Analysis of Barriers Faced by Children Aged 7 to 11 Using Public
Libraries. Canadian Journal
of Information and Library Science v. 28 no. 4
(December 2004) p. 3-24
-
Hughes-Hassell,
S., et. al., Using
Focus Group Interviews
to Improve Library Services for Youth. Teacher
Librarian v. 32 no. 1 (O 2004) p.
8-12
-
Morrison, R., et. al., Taking
Assessment on the Road: Utah Academic Librarians Focus on Distance Learners.
Journal of Library Administration v.
41 no. 1/2 (2004) p. 327-44
2003:
-
Ho,
J., et. al., User
Perceptions of the "Reliability" of Library Services at Texas
A&M University: A Focus Group
Study. The Journal of
Academic Librarianship v. 29 no. 2 (March 2003)
p. 82-7
-
Leighton,
H. V., et. al., Web
Page Design and Successful Use: A Focus Group
Study. Internet Reference
Services Quarterly v. 8 no. 3 (2003) p.
17-27
-
Shoaf,
E. C. Using
a Professional Moderator in Library Focus Group
Research. College &
Research Libraries v. 64 no. 2 (March 2003)
p. 124-32
-
Seggern,
M. V., et. al., The
focus group method in
libraries: issues relating to process and data analysis. Reference
Services Review v. 31 no. 3 (2003) p.
272-84
2002:
-
Alexander,
K., reviewer Focus
groups for libraries and librarians (Book
Review). Medical Reference
Services Quarterly v. 21 no. 1 (Spring 2002)
p. 93-4
-
Cavill,
P. The
power of focus groups.
PNLA Quarterly v.
66 no. 2 (Winter 2002) p. 4-6
-
Crowley,
G. H., et. al., User
perceptions of the library's Web pages: a focus
group study at Texas A&M University.
The Journal of Academic
Librarianship
v. 28 no. 4 (July 2002) p.
205-10
-
Everhart,
N., et. al., Using
focus groups with
young people [to improve school library
programs]. Knowledge Quest
v. 30 no. 3 (January/February 2002) p.
36-7
-
Henner,
T. A., et. al., Using
Focus Groups to Guide
Development of a Public Health Web Site [At
the University of Nevada School of Medicine]. Medical
Reference Services Quarterly v. 21 no. 4 (Winter
2002) p. 15-22
-
Higa-Moore,
M. L., et. al., Use
of focus groups in a
library's strategic planning process [University
of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas Library]. Journal
of the Medical Library Association v. 90 no. 1
(January 2002) p. 86-92
-
Marmion, D. Editorial:
listening to our users [preliminary results from a focus
group study of online searching behaviors]. Information
Technology and Libraries v. 21 no. 2 (June 2002)
p.
44
-
Mehra, B., et. al., Scenarios
in the Afya Project as a Participatory Action Research (PAR) Tool for
Studying Information Seeking and Use Across the "Digital
Divide". Journal
of the American Society for Information Science and Technology v.
53 no. 14 (December 2002) p. 1259-66
-
Perry, V. E. Putting
Knowledge to Work Effectively: Assessing Information Needs Through Focus
Groups. INSPEL
v. 36 no. 4 (2002) p. 254-
65
2001:
-
Large,
A., et. al., Focus
Groups with Children: Do they Work?.
Canadian Journal of Information and
Library Science v. 26 no. 2/3 (June/September
2001) p. 77-89
-
Leach, A. Information
provision in a rural context: the perspectives of rural adults [In
KwaZulu-Natal]. South African Journal
of Library and Information Science v. 67 no. 2 (2001)
p. 51-62
-
Milliot,
J. New
focus leads to Varsity Group's
first profit. Publishers
Weekly v. 248 no. 45 (November 5 2001) p.
12
-
Searing,
S. E., et. al., The
Future of Scientific Publishing on the Web: Insights from Focus
Groups of Chemists. Portal
v. 1 no. 1 (January 2001) p.
77-96
-
Vogel, I. An online
impact assessment tool for research information: some preliminary concepts.
Information Development v.
17 no. 2 (June 2001) p. 111-14
-
Verny,
R., et. al., Case
study 2.2: conducting focus groups
{to evaluate Kent State University School of Library and Information
Science}. In: Library
evaluation. Libraries Unlimited,
2001
-
Young,
N. J., et. al., General
information seeking in changing times: a focus
group
study. Reference & User
Services Quarterly v. 41 no. 2 (Winter 2001)
p. 159-69
2000:
-
Cast,
M. Community
college focus group:
comments from the 2000 ALA Midwinter Meeting. College
& Research Libraries News v. 61 no. 5 (May
2000) p. 384
-
Cavill,
P. M. Focus
groups: guiding the development of Teacher
librarian [at the AASL/IASL joint
conference, November 1999, Birmingham, Alabama]. Teacher
Librarian v. 27 no. 3 (February 2000) p.
67-8
-
Chase,
L. C., et. al., Internet
research: the role of the focus group
[use of the focus group technique in online format]
.
Library & Information Science
Research v. 22 no. 4 (2000) p.
357-69
-
Killingsworth,
B. L., et. al., [The
Use of Focus Groups in
the Design and Development of a National Labor Exchange System]
[computer file]. First
Monday (Online) v. 5 no. 7 (July 2000) p.
1
-
Norlin,
E. Reference
evaluation: a three-step approach--surveys, unobtrusive observations,
and focus groups
[at the University of Arizona]. College
& Research Libraries v. 61 no. 6 (November
2000) p. 546-53
-
Schneider,
J. M., reviewer Focus
groups for libraries and librarians (Book
Review). Bulletin of the
Medical Library Association v. 88 no. 3 (July
2000) p. 279-80
-
Welsh, Jennifer, Focus groups in library
and information services: report of a pilot study, The New Review of
Information and Library Research. 6, 2000
1999:
-
Bex, J., et. al., Users'
views on UK academic networked information services. Education
for Information v. 17 no. 2 (June 1999) p.
145-54
1998:
-
Bluh,
P. M. Ulrich's
focus group meeting,
October 27, 1997 [in Florham Park, New
Jersey]. Serials Review
v.
24 no. 1 (Spring 1998) p. 118-
20
-
Curran,
C. C., et. al., Using
focus groups to gather
information for LIS curriculum review [at
the University of South Carolina]. Journal
of Education for Library and Information Science v.
39 no. 3 (Summer 1998) p. 175-
82
-
Massey-Burzio,
V. From
the other side of the reference desk: a focus
group
study [at Johns Hopkins University]. The
Journal of Academic Librarianship v. 24 no. 3
(May 1998) p. 208-15
-
Nord,
L. L. Talking
with young adults: a focus group
experience [evaluating YA services at
Johnson County Library]. Voice
of Youth Advocates v. 21 no. 5 (December 1998)
p. 343-6
-
November, S. Field
notes: I'm not a teenager--I just read like one. The
Horn Book v. 74 no. 6 (November/December 1998) p.
775-80
-
Ozinga,
C. J. Focus
groups view public libraries [report
of a session at the 1998 PLA Conference]. The
Unabashed Librarian no. 108 (1998) p.
4
-
Rose,
P. M., et. al., A
focus group approach
to assessing technostress at the reference desk [at
the Health Sciences Library at SUNY Buffalo]. Reference
& User Services Quarterly v. 37 no. 4
(Summer 1998) p. 311-17
-
Schafer,
S. A. Student
satisfaction with library services: results of evaluation using focus
groups {at Athabasca University}. In:
The
eighth Off-Campus Library Services Conference proceedings.
Central Mich. Univ., 1998
-
SLA
members speak: technology focus groups.
Information Outlook v.
2 no. 9 (September 1998) p. 33
1997:
-
Beachboard, J. C. Assessing
the Information Technology Management Reform Act from a bureau's perspective
[focus group of bureau-level managers]. Government
Information Quarterly v. 14 no. 3 (1997) p.
291-311
-
Bertot, J. C., et. al., Key
issues affecting the development of federal IRM: a view from the trenches
[focus group on information resources management]. Government
Information Quarterly v. 14 no. 3 (1997) p.
271-90
-
Connaway,
L. S., et. al., Online
catalogs from the users' perspective: the use of focus
group interviews [at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison Library]. College
& Research Libraries v. 58 (September 1997)
p. 403-20
-
Glitz,
B. The
focus group technique
in library research: an introduction [based
on a presentation at the 1996 MLA Conference]. Bulletin
of the Medical Library Association v. 85 no. 4
(October 1997) p. 385-90
-
Goulding,
A. Joking,
being aggressive and shutting people up: the use of focus
groups in LIS research. Education
for Information v. 15 no. 4 (December 1997)
p. 331-41
-
Morrison,
H. G. Information
literacy skills: an exploratory focus group
study of student perceptions [at Concordia
University College of Alberta]. Research
Strategies v. 15 (Winter 1997) p.
4-17
-
Mutter,
J. BISAC
group to focus on Net
commerce. Publishers Weekly
v. 244 (September 29 1997) p.
25-6
-
Parang,
E. Using
focus groups to match
user expectations with library constraints [at
the University of Nebraska Medical Center Library; workshop report from
the 1996 NASIG Conference]. The
Serials Librarian v. 31 no. 1-2 (1997) p.
335-9
-
Kaufman, D. B., et. al., Using
student employees to focus preservation awareness campaigns {Virginia Tech
Libraries}. In: Promoting preservation awareness in
libraries. Greenwood Press,
1997
1996:
-
Connaway,
L. S. Focus
group interviews: a data collection
methodology for decision making [bibliographical essay]
.
Library Administration &
Management v. 10 (Fall 1996) p.
231-9
-
Johnson,
D. W. Focus
groups. In: The
Tell it! manual. American Lib. Assn.,
1996
-
Kerslake,
E., et. al., Focus
groups: their use in LIS research data
collection. Education for
Information v. 14 (October 1996) p.
225-32
-
McNeil, J. S. Publish
electronically or perish [presented at the 1995
Charleston Conference]. Library
Acquisitions v. 20 (Fall 1996) p.
359-61
-
Tyerman,
K. Getting
things in focus: the use of focus
groups in Brent Libraries [to
monitor service to the ethnically diverse community]. Library
Management v. 17 no. 2 (1996) p.
36-9
-
Waters,
M. R. T. A
children's focus group
discussion in a public library: part two [in
Texas]. Public Library
Quarterly v. 15 no. 3 (1996) p.
5-7
-
Waters,
M. R. T. A
children's focus group
discussion in a public library: part one [in
Texas]. Public Library
Quarterly v. 15 no. 2 (1996) p.
5-6
-
Waters, M. R. T. From
the mouths of the young: what children and young people think about the public
library. Public Library Quarterly
v. 15 no. 4 (1996) p. 3-
16
1995:
-
Alreck and Settle, Survey Research Handbook
(1995).
Advantages of Focus Group:
There are a number of advantages of surveys including: spontaneity,
subjectivity, stimulation, speed, simplicity, structure, specialization,
selectivity, and secrecy, (p. 394) cited in UO Thesis,
https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/45/displan.pdf?
sequence=1
-
Canning,
C. S., et. al., Using
focus groups to
evaluate library services in a problem-based learning curriculum
[J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library]. Medical
Reference Services Quarterly v. 14 (Fall 1995)
p. 75-81
-
Oberg,
D., et. al., Focus
group interviews: a tool for program evaluation
in school library education [at the
University of Alberta]. Education
for Information v. 13 (June 1995) p.
117-29
1994:
-
Batchelor, K., et. al., Expressions
of interest in Brent [focus group discussions].
Library
Association Record v. 96 (October 1994) p.
554-5
-
Milliot,
J. Business
watch: Inland sold to Miller Group; small press
to remain focus. Publishers
Weekly v. 241 (July 18 1994) p.
16
-
Mullaly-Quijas,
P., et. al., Using
focus groups to
discover health professionals' information needs: a regional marketing
study [conducted by the Midcontinental
Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine; presented at
the 1993 MLA Conference]. Bulletin
of the Medical Library Association v. 82 (July
1994) p. 305-11
1993:
-
Carlson,
L. T., et. al., The
role of focus groups
in the identification of user needs and data availability [by
the EIA]. Government
Information Quarterly v. 10 no. 1 (1993)
p.
89-100
-
LaChance,
S. The
impact of user focus groups
on the design of new products. In: 14th
National Online Meeting. Learned Information,
1993
-
Valentine,
B. Undergraduate
research behavior: using focus groups
to generate theory [at Linfield College].
The Journal of Academic
Librarianship
v. 19 (November 1993) p. 300-
4
-
Young,
V. L. Focus
on focus groups
[expansion of a presentation made at ACRL's sixth
National Conference in April 1992]. College
& Research Libraries News no. 7 (July/August
1993) p. 391-4
1992:
-
Hernon, P., et. al., Literature
reviews and inaccurate referencing: an exploratory study of academic
librarians
[based on focus group interviews at 5 ARL institutions].
College & Research Libraries v.
53 (November 1992) p. 499-512
-
Johnson,
D. W. Keeping
things in focus: information for decision
making {focus group
interviews}. In: Keeping
the book$. Highsmith Press,
1992
1991:
-
Baker,
S. L. Improving
business services through the use of focus groups
[at Iowa City Public Library]. RQ
v. 30 (Spring 1991) p. 377-
85
-
Day, C. Open group
discussions as a market research method: a study on young adults' views of
the library service in the London borough of Ealing
[using
focus groups]. Library Association
Record v. 93 (June 1991) p.
389-90+
-
MacRitchie, J. The
virtue of fools [Ealing library's young adult focus
groups]. Scottish Libraries
no.
28 (July/August 1991) p. 9
-
Mitchell,
Z. O. Focus
group afterthoughts [ALA
project on support staff sponsored by a 1990 World Book-ALA goal award]
.
Colorado Libraries v.
17 (June 1991) p. 32-3
-
Roy, L. What is
qualitative research? [direct observation, in-depth
interviews, focus groups, and oral history]. Journal
of Youth Services in Libraries v. 5 (Fall 1991)
p. 105-7
-
Scott,
R. N., et. al., Don't
ask unless you really want to know! Tapping branch campus library users'
perceptions with focus group
interviews {at Georgia College}. In: The
fifth Off-campus Library Services Conference proceedings.
Central Mich. Univ. Press, 1991
-
Widdows,
R., et. al., The
focus group interview:
a method for assessing users' evaluation of library service [at
Purdue]. College & Research
Libraries v. 52 (July 1991) p.
352-9
1990:
-
Devin,
R. B. The
focus group:
impressions of a participant [at a session
held by Elsevier's New York office]. Serials
Review v. 16 no. 1 (1990) p.
96-8
-
Leather,
D. J. How
the focus group
technique can strengthen the development of a building program.
Library Administration &
Management v. 4 (Spring 1990) p.
92-5
-
Manning,
H. M., et. al., Focus
group research: a case study [ASIS
self-examination]. Bulletin of
the American Society for Information Science v.
17 (October/November 1990) p. 7-10
-
Robbins,
K., et. al., Hospital
library evaluation using focus group
interviews. Bulletin of the
Medical Library Association v. 78 (July 1990)
p. 311-13
-
Tagler, J. From
behind the mirror [use of focus groups by Elsevier's
New York office]. Serials
Review
v. 16 no. 1 (1990) p. 94-
5
1989:
1988:
-
Hutton,
B., et. al., Focus
groups: linkages to the community [at
Denver Public Library]. Public
Libraries v. 27 (Fall 1988) p.
149-50+
1986:
-
Focus groups
[for publicizing library services and getting community
feedback]. The Unabashed
Librarian
no. 59 (1986) p.
20
-
Scharf, M. K., et. al., A
library research application of focus group
interviews. In: Energies for transition.
Association of College & Res. Libs.,
1986
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