Using Focus Groups to Listen, Learn, and Lead in Higher Education
presents an easy-to-use 6-step guide to help leaders in higher
education listen to and learn from their stakeholders in order to
enhance decision making. The big questions facing institutions
today, especially those surrounding access, affordability, and
accountability, require more than dashboards. Metrics and
quantitative data alone do not offer lasting solutions and
improvements. Using qualitative methods to listen to the voices of
those involved, especially students and staff, is critical. Focus
groups constitute the most appropriate, rigorous, and relevant
qualitative research tool for this purpose, and one that is
cost-effective and builds community when conducted using the ODU
Method described in this book. Using Focus Groups is a single,
comprehensive, and practical resource that describes why, when, and
how to use focus groups. The authors provide detailed guidance for
using focus groups, from developing the research questions with
stakeholders, through training and recruiting moderators, and
identifying and recruiting participants, to the logistics of
conducting focus groups, and ultimately analyzing data and
developing final reports. Conversational vignettes illustrate the
discussions that regularly occur in each step and help the reader
better understand the process. Fifteen appendices provide templates
and examples of every part of the process. Written particularly for
institutional research and assessment staff and upper-level
administrators, this book will also appeal to deans, department and
program chairs and directors, faculty leaders, and administrative
unit directors, including those in auxiliary and student services,
alumni associations, and university foundations. It also serves as
an excellent resource for higher education research methods
courses. The authors are uniquely positioned to guide readers in
this process. The team developed and refined this technique over
two decades at Old Dominion University. They have conducted over
100 focus groups with campus, nonprofit, local, and international
community organizations to assist them in assessing student
learning, transition, and preparedness for the workforce, as well
as evaluating organizations work and planning future projects.
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