Focus group research in the academic library: An overview of the methodology

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Authors
Weare, William H., Jr.
Advisors
Issue Date
2012-09-20
Type
Conference paper
Keywords
Focus groups , Qualitative research , Academic libraries , Undergraduate students , User needs
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Citation
Weare, W. H., Jr. (2013). Focus group research in the academic library: An overview of the methodology. Paper presented at the International Conference on Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries, Limerick, Ireland, 2012. In Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries (QQML) 1, 47-58.
Abstract

Through the use of focus groups, academic librarians can discover what students really think, feel, need, and want. Equipped with this knowledge, librarians will be better positioned to design and deliver effective programs, improve services, and shape the development of facilities to better meet the needs of current and future users. Concerned about the efficacy of various library programs and initiatives at Valparaiso University (Valparaiso, Indiana, USA), two public services librarians conducted a series of focus groups with undergraduate students to gain a better understanding of their perceptions of the library. This paper provides an overview of the focus group methodology employed in this study.

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Accepted version of this article is available in SOAR for view / download. Open Access journal means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the Budapest Open Access Initiative -BOAI definition of open access.
Publisher
Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries (QQML)
Journal
Book Title
Series
Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries
Volume 1
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
2241-1925
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