The use of focus groups in the evaluation of services

FOCUS groups have been used for some time at Huddersfield University Library as one of a number of performance measurement and evaluation methods. The use of focus groups has recently been expanded in older to enhance the receipt of user feedback and the assessment of user services. The paper outlines the work undertaken to date, and makes some assessment of the usefulness of the techniques employed. Procedures undertaken in the organisation of focus groups are detailed. Techniques of facilitating groups and of conceptual mapping are outlined. Details are given of the focus groups' perceptions of the library induction process, the loans service, the short loan collection, and of potential service developments. Concludes that the use of focus groups to evaluate services is worthwhile.