User Focus Groups Research Articles

Evaluating hypermedia structures as a means of improving language learning strategies and motivation

By providing access, data and new forms of literacy and communication practices, it is widely accepted that networked technologies have done much to promote learner autonomy. However, in practical terms, the lack of resources, expertise and research investigations into learner interaction have all too often meant that autonomous learning is conveniently likened to teacher-independent learning, largely relying on the success and assumed intuitiveness of the World Wide Web (web) for its learner driven delivery. This situation affecting foreign language teaching and learning has been further aggravated by the recent trend, at least in UK universities, to conceive languages solely as communicative tools, further severing them from their academic base and cultural roots, often reducing learner autonomy to poor repetitive interaction. On this premise, this paper proposes to focus on how to make better use of the interactive potential of the web in order to maximise independent language learning online. From a Human Computer Interaction (HCI) design perspective, it intends to shed further light on and increase our understanding of hypermedia and multimedia structures through learner participation and evaluation. On the basis of evidence from an ongoing research investigation into online CALL literacy, it will seek to identify crucial causalities between the user interface and learner interaction affecting the learners’ focus and engagement within their own learning processes. The adopted methodology combines a task analysis of a hypermedia prototype underpinned by an activity theory approach and participatory design based on user walkthroughs and focus groups. By looking at the relationship between action and goal as well as between activities and motives, it attempts to provide a framework for evaluating online hypermedia interactivity based on identified activities, design tasks and design criteria.

Development and qualitative assessment of the GAME/sup Cycle/ exercise system

Increased physical activity is important for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, among people with disabilities, inactivity is prevalent. In order to encourage exercise among members of this group, an exercise system combining arm ergometry with video gaming, called the GAME(Cycle) was previously developed. User input was received through an arm crank ergometer on a swivel, with the angular velocity of the ergometer resistance wheel controlling one axis and rotation of ergometer about the swivel controlling the other. The purpose of this study was to detail the algorithms used in this device and present novel features included in a second generation of the GAME(Cycle). The features include a wheel on base, a steering return mechanism, and wireless fire buttons. A focus group of clinicians (n = 8), wheelchair users (n = 8), and clinician wheelchair users (n = 2) was conducted to evaluate the features of the GAME(Cycle). The focus group suggested improvements to the steering mechanism and to reduce vibration in the system. However, the focus group enjoyed the GAME(Cycle) and felt that it would encourage exercise among persons with disabilities.

Identifying issues in customer relationship management at Merck-Medco

This paper reports the results of a study designed in close collaboration with Merck-Medco to identify key barriers to the success of their customer relationship management. To identify the key factors, we first used focus groups of principle users of the system to brainstorm and generate a list of scenarios and issues. A team of managers, supervisors and customer service representatives then consolidated this list. A 54-item survey was derived from the list and used to collect 1460 responses from the user groups within the company. Data were equally divided into two sets. Exploratory factor analysis was used with the first data set to identify principal factors that explained the majority of problem areas. Structural equation modeling was used with the second data set to further examine and confirm the initial list of factors. The study results suggest a seven-factor 21-item model describing barriers to the success of customer relationship management in terms of ‘standard operating procedure compliance,’ ‘accountability and ownership,’ ‘callback information content,’ ‘customer contact process,’ ‘ billing issues,’ ‘dispensing and replacement process,’ and ‘queuing procedure’. These factors explained the majority of customer relationship problems in the company. These measures can be used by the company to plan and monitor remedial response. Evidence of reliability and construct validity is presented for the measurement models and decision-making implications are discussed.

Organizing Interpretive Text for a Digital Library: How User Testing Found the Lost Frontier

SUMMARY This paper looks at exercises done with user focus groups and how they have influenced the reorganization of Meeting of Frontiers' interpretive text content. Meeting of Frontiers is an international collaborative digital library project at the Library of Congress. Testing consisted of a user survey and card sorting exercises in order to refine the site hierarchy and identify problems with design proposals.

The caring child: an evaluative case study of the Cornwall Young Carers project

This paper reports on an evaluation of the Cornwall Young Carers project (jointly funded by social services and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Health Action Zone), conducted during the period 2000–2002. A diverse range of methodological approaches were adopted (comparative national statistics, local pilot study, monthly and quarterly data capturing instruments, and a service user focus group) in monitoring and evaluating the project's high level statements/outcomes. Four evaluative themes are discussed, namely: identification of young carers; assessment of young carers' needs; direct service provision; and partnership working. Recommendations and action steps are proposed with a view of informing future planning and service delivery, as well as developing an ethos of integrating evaluation into everyday practice for the Cornwall Young Carers Project. Overall, the project has made significant progress in meeting and exceeding its original targets. The fact that the project has been able to identify 202 new young carers over this period is a key milestone in demonstrating the critical need for the project's services. It is suggested that existing referrals are only the ‘tip of the iceberg’ for work with young carers in Cornwall.

Use of Internet Audience Measurement Data to Gauge Market Share for Online Health Information Services

Background The transition to a largely Internet and Web-based environment for dissemination of health information has changed the health information landscape and the framework for evaluation of such activities. A multidimensional evaluative approach is needed.Objective This paper discusses one important dimension of Web evaluation—usage data. In particular, we discuss the collection and analysis of external data on website usage in order to develop a better understanding of the health information (and related US government information) market space, and to estimate the market share or relative levels of usage for National Library of Medicine (NLM) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) websites compared to other health information providers.Methods The primary method presented is Internet audience measurement based on Web usage by external panels of users and assembled by private vendors—in this case, comScore. A secondary method discussed is Web usage based on Web log software data. The principle metrics for both methods are unique visitors and total pages downloaded per month.Results NLM websites (primarily MedlinePlus and PubMed) account for 55% to 80% of total NIH website usage depending on the metric used. In turn, NIH.gov top-level domain usage (inclusive of NLM) ranks second only behind WebMD in the US domestic home health information market and ranks first on a global basis. NIH.gov consistently ranks among the top three or four US government top-level domains based on global Web usage. On a site-specific basis, the top health information websites in terms of global usage appear to be WebMD, MSN Health, PubMed, Yahoo! Health, AOL Health, and MedlinePlus. Based on MedlinePlus Web log data and external Internet audience measurement data, the three most heavily used cancer-centric websites appear to be www.cancer.gov (National Cancer Institute), www.cancer.org (American Cancer Society), and www.breastcancer.org (non-profit organization).Conclusions Internet audience measurement has proven useful to NLM, with significant advantages compared to sole reliance on usage data from Web log software. Internet audience data has helped NLM better understand the relative usage of NLM and NIH websites in the intersection of the health information and US government information market sectors, which is the primary market intersector for NLM and NIH. However important, Web usage is only one dimension of a complete Web evaluation framework, and other primary research methods, such as online user surveys, usability tests, and focus groups, are also important for comprehensive evaluation that includes qualitative elements, such as user satisfaction and user friendliness, as well as quantitative indicators of website usage.

The Columbia River Basin Ethnic History Archive

PurposeThis paper aims to describe the three state digital archive collaboration between the Washington, Oregon, and Idaho state historical societies, and Washington State University, a multi‐campus university.Design/methodology/approachThe paper discusses the three major aspects of the IMLS Leadership project: the process of the museum/library collaboration, the technical aspects of the building, the digital archive and the metadata scheme, and the effort to engage the archive user with the past through interactive tutorials.FindingsBuilding a contextually coherent digital archive from numerous geographically remote collections is possible to do given current meeting technologies and funding for travel. Project staff and partners need to be explicit and forthcoming about institutional and professional interests involved in collaborative projects. User focus groups found the site to be very engaging.Originality/valueThe paper describes the collaboration process, technically how the archive was built, and the development of the history tutorials and discussion board.

Existential needs of people with psychotic disorders in Pôrto Alegre, Brazil

Needs for care in service users with schizophrenia are often defined by professionals and focus on basic needs for health and social care rather than broader existential issues. To examine the perceptions of users and formal and informal carers of the needs of people with non-affective psychosis. A qualitative study was conducted involving focus groups of service users and informal and formal carers in a major Brazilian city. Existential needs were the most important theme for people with psychotic disorders. Informal and formal carers mainly regarded such needs as secondary to needs for health, housing, leisure and work. Carers usually reduced the existential questioning of the ill person to symptoms or the result of a privation such as lack or failure of medication and its consequences. We require an approach to service users wherein respect and understanding are prized as the first needs from which all others will naturally follow. We also need to give greater priority to existential issues in validated schedules that measure needs in clinical work and research.

Focus groups of Y–K Delta Alaska Natives: attitudes toward tobacco use and tobacco dependence interventions

Background. Tobacco dependence interventions developed for Alaska Natives are virtually nonexistent. Alaska Natives residing on the Yukon–Kuskokwim (Y–K) Delta in southwestern Alaska use a unique form of smokeless tobacco (ST) known as Iqmik. This study employed focus group methodology to explore attitudes toward tobacco use and tobacco dependence interventions among Alaska Natives residing on the Y–K Delta. Methods. Twelve focus groups of former and current tobacco users were conducted in four villages in the Y–K Delta. Participants were 35 adults (83% female) and 22 adolescents (27% female). Participants completed a brief demographic and tobacco use history form. Statements from the focus groups were transcribed for content coding and analysis of the major themes. Results. Use of Iqmik in the villages is thought to be ubiquitous. Y–K Delta Alaska Natives are introduced to Iqmik at a very young age. Iqmik is mostly used and prepared by young Alaska Natives and adult women. There are few perceived adverse health effects of Iqmik or other tobacco use. Although there is interest in stopping, there is a perceived lack of availability of tobacco dependence interventions. The major barriers to preventing the initiation of and stopping tobacco use are the social acceptance and widespread use and availability of tobacco. Conclusion. The attitudes toward tobacco and identified barriers to stopping will be useful in developing tobacco dependence interventions for Alaska Natives.

Patients’ Knowledge Formations through a Healthcare E‐messaging System

There is an increasing interest in employing e‐mail or other Internet‐based messaging systems in communication between patients and healthcare professionals. Many projects are put into practice, and numerous studies shed light on patients’ preferences regarding e‐messaging and their experience and use of e‐messaging. We argue in this paper that the conventional research in the field to some extent lacks a discussion about what kinds of knowledge an e‐messaging system generates among its users when it is put into practice. We suggest that placing the concept of knowledge as a discourse in focus, stressing how patients make judgements and distinctions in their use of e‐messaging, exposes important aspects not only regarding how patients relate to the system but also what e‐messaging in the healthcare sector means. We illustrate such a perspective with empirical material based on two focus groups of users of an e‐messaging system via a Swedish healthcare Web portal. Three kinds of knowledge formations are illuminated in this context: how patients develop knowledge by comparing e‐messaging services with traditional ways to contact healthcare; how the system generates a further demand for control by its users; and how the e‐messaging system helps users develop knowledge of the healthcare system in general.

Issues surrounding the user-centred development of a new interactive memory aid

Memory problems are often associated with the ageing process and are one of the commonest effects of brain injury. Electronic memory aids have been successfully used as a compensatory approach to provide reminders to individuals with prospective memory problems. This paper describes the usability issues surrounding the development of a new memory aid rendered on a personal digital assistant (PDA); in addition, it discusses the importance of a user-centred design process for the development of the memory aid and preliminary qualitative findings from interviews and focus groups of disabled or elderly users.

A study in reading comprehension improvement

As everyday computing plays an increasingly prominent role in our daily lives, user reading comprehension is of vital importance for human progress. This paper proposes to investigate the improvement of the user reading comprehension by different factors. Two main experiments tested how an explicit display of a small collection of keywords and a summary explanation aid reading comprehension. Twelve subjects were used for the first experiment and eight subjects for the second experiment. All were UIC undergraduate and graduate students, with computer experience. In the post experimentation stage, the subjects recommended different techniques for reading improvement. Comprehension was estimated by two procedures, a quantitative evaluation by a comprehension questionnaire and a qualitative evaluation by the subjective report. Important results were pointed out by the subjective evaluation. The advantages and disadvantages were summarized by a small focus group of users. A Dynamic Reading Device was designed for experimentation usage.

Development of a "survival" guide for substance users in Harlem, New York City.

The community advisory board (CAB) of the Harlem Urban Research Center, which includes community service providers, Department of Health workers, and academics, identified substance users' health as an action priority. The CAB initiated the development of a wellness guide to provide informational support for substance users to improve access to community services. Focus groups of current and former users engaged substance users in the guide development process and determined the guide's content and "look." Focus group participants recommended calling this a "survival" guide. The guide will include three sections: (a) health information and how to navigate the system to obtain services, (b) a reference list of community services, and (c) relevant "hotline" numbers. The design will incorporate local street art. Substance users continue to shape the guide through ongoing art workshops. Dissemination and evaluation of the guide will continue to involve substance users, community service providers, and academics.

User focus groups and Best Value in services for people with learning disabilities.

This paper examines the problems and potentials of employing user focus groups as part of an approach to defining and reviewing Best Value in local authority and jointly commissioned services for people with learning disabilities. Drawing on experience from three local authority initiatives and wider experience with Best Value, the paper describes the development of user focus groups for helping review adult placement, outreach and day services for people with learning disabilities. The key methodological considerations for consulting with service users with learning disabilities through focus groups are identified and the interpretation of outcomes considered. The paper concludes with pointers for the effective operation of user focus groups in local authority Best Value reviews of services for people with learning disabilities, of use to practitioners, service managers and commissioners.

Designing a Telephone-Based Interface for a Home Automation System

User-interface design lacks expertise in designing nonvisual user interfaces. This is surprising as there are various domains where auditory interfaces have already been proved to be helpful, such as railway information services and reading support for blind persons. We present a case study concerning the design of a telephone-based interface (TBI). It was realized within the development process of an interaction concept for a modular home automation system. The design was based on requirements gathered in user focus groups and on general guidelines for the design of TBIs. The TBI's evaluation revealed some minor (i.e., easily solved) usability problems. Questionnaires showed a positive ergonomic quality as well as a positive overall appeal. Interestingly, the evaluation indicates a potential to improve hedonic quality (i.e., non-task-related quality aspects). It may be induced by the addition of nonspeech sounds, thereby enriching user experience.

Evaluating equity in public library services

Reports results of research conducted by the Centre for the Public Library in the Information Society, Sheffield University, Department of Information Studies, to develop a tool for evaluating the social impact of public library activities. The project included an examination of equity or fairness in the distribution of services in relation to objectives. The study involved library staff, elected members, focus groups of local residents, users and non users of public libraries in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne and the County of Somerset, UK. The methodology used in the study has been published in detail elsewhere ( IFLA Journal, 25 (2) 1999, 90-6). Barriers to equity were found to be related to: physical barriers; geographical barriers; economic barriers. The data shows that both Newcastle and Somerset library services are administered fairly, with only isolated examples where equity had to be counter balanced with efficiency considerations. In terms of equity of access to services, both library authorities had policies to improve access for people with disabilities, although there was a call for a more user focused approach by the focus groups. Problems in Somerset, resulting from rural isolation, were overcome through a comprehensive network of services. Problems in Newcastle, resulting from economic barriers, were helped through policies directed at priority groups and areas.

What do people need psychiatric and mental health nurses for?

The study reported here aimed to describe, by consulting with psychiatric practitioners of different disciplines, what people in contact with mental health services need nurses for, in terms of core nursing activity. Yet, recent trends have also been towards consumer-led definitions of good practice. The views of service and ex-service users can contribute much to an exploration of the role of psychiatric and mental health nurses and these perspectives were incorporated into the study. Given the lack of existing theory, a qualitative, grounded theory methodology was selected. In order to generate data rich enough for the analysis, focus groups of psychiatric nurses, social workers, service users, psychiatrists, carers and professions allied to medicine were sampled (13 groups, n=92) on the basis of the themes emerging from the data. Using critical incident technique (Flanagan 1954), the groups were invited to give examples of effective and ineffective nursing interventions, in relation to specific patient needs. The taped material was transcribed and analysed with the help of a computer package (QSR NUD.IST). This led to the selection of a core category, 'knowing you, knowing me', which described service users' and professionals' expectations that nurses are best placed to second guess the needs of patients and present themselves accordingly. Thus, nurses were expected, moment by moment, to know whether to be the patient's friend, a friendly professional, or take a more distant professional stance. The continuum entails different levels of knowledge and power, different language forms and different approaches to structuring time. Nurses themselves are most likely to prefer a position of friendly professional, from which they can move to a more intimate or distant role. Further study is needed to explore how nurses predict patients' expectations of them using a symbolic interactionist framework.

The human side of reef management: a case study analysis of the socioeconomic framework of Montego Bay Marine Park

This study furthers our understanding of the role of socioeconomics in coral reef management by demonstrating the importance, as well as means, of incorporating socioeconomic information into coral reef management. A case study analysis was made of the socioeconomic context of the three primary user groups in Montego Bay Marine Park, Jamaica: fishers, hoteliers and watersports operators. The primary means of data collection were document analysis, interviews with individuals representative of user groups, focus groups and participant observation. The results regarding user’s awareness, user groups’ relations with the managing agency, relations among and within user groups, resource use patterns, and sociocultural values demonstrate the need to: increase public awareness of the benefits of the Park, increase user awareness of Park management activities, increase user involvement in Park management, and develop intersectoral coordination. These findings provide useful guidance for future Park management and, in a more general context, illustrate the importance of socioeconomic assessments for reef management.

Risk factors for tenancy breakdown for mentally ill people

People with mental health problems are at risk of tenancy breakdown. This study investigated the risk factors associated with a loss of tenancy. Focus groups of mental health service users (n=5), care staff (n=4) and housing workers (n=6) identified a set of 11 possible risk factors. Housing and resettlement records for 197 tenants with mental health problems were surveyed, of which 51 (26%) related to failed tenancies. Thirty of the housing managers were interviewed by researchers and 47 of the tenants were interviewed by other researchers who had themselves previously used mental health services. Four risk factors were identified: lack of support following a crisis; regular contact with services; lapse of housing benefit following hospital admission; and having no support other than the specialist resettlement team (who withdraw within 6 months of being accommodated). The implications of these risk factors are discussed.

AIDS and community nursing care.

This article reports on a study commissioned by the Department of Health to examine community nursing services for people with HIV disease. Data were gathered on discharge, referral patterns and coordination of services for people with HIV disease in six health authorities in England. Methods included discharge surveys, a district nurse survey, and service user focus groups. All data were collectively analysed within a structure-process-outcome framework. Findings demonstrate that given adequate and appropriate support, education, training and clinical preparation, district nurses are effective and willing providers of care for people with HIV disease. However, there are problems in care coordination, discharge planning and accessing resources. At its best, community nursing is providing individualized, holistic and comprehensive care packages, but practice in both acute and primary care settings was not always effective.