Developing Information Communication Technologies for the Human Services - Information Communication Technologies for Human Services Education and Delivery - page 156

ers, educators and practitioners. Information is
discussed and shared within the focus group about
attitudes, needs, concerns and interests with regard
to the design and application of the technologies in
relation to the specific context of the user group.
This provides a deeper understanding of how us-
ers engage with the technology and the problems
they face. Information is gained about the culture
of the group and shared or diverse viewpoints
that can trigger more in-depth discussions. It is
also an opportunity to gain information on users'
responses to ideas and prototypes.
Focus groups usually comprise of between
eight and 12 users, or potential users, for the
duration of approximately two hours. During this
time a moderated discussion occurs on a range of
pre-determined topics or themes. Desired learning
outcomes of the focus group are identified and used
to structure the discussion by writing a script for
the moderator to follow with topics to cover and
questions to ask. This script is to be applied flex-
ibly so that the discussion flows smoothly and all
participants have an opportunity to contribute to
the discussions. This may mean that the moderator
changes the order of questions or topics covered
but ultimately has covered everything during the
time allocated for the focus group. This requires a
skilled moderator who is able to keep the discus-
sion focused, deciding when further discussion of
a topic is needed and when to move on.
Tape recordings of group sessions and one or
more note takers are critical for an accurate record-
ing of the focus group discussions. As the focus
of the moderator is managing the discussions and
intervening when necessary it is not appropriate for
this person to also be a note taker, unless this role
is shared with a co-facilitator. In co-facilitation the
moderators may take it in turns to chair the group
and take notes. Reliance on recordings alone can
be problematic, particularly in instances when
more than one person is talking at the same time
due to background noise and difficulty identify-
ing the speaker. A task analysis provides detailed
information on how users achieve their goals and
the steps involved.

The design team needs to be clear on the pur-
pose of surveying users. Survey distribution may
be a pre-existing website for the organization or
another site where users go. If multiple postings are
made it is important to consider the possibility of
multiple responses from the one user and whether
or not this poses a problem. It may give a false
idea of numbers of users who have responded, yet
a frequent user may a have a lot of good ideas.
Issues of how the data will be recorded, stored
and managed need to be considered carefully with
ethical approval obtained where necessary.
Group e-mails through listservs are useful for
making direct requests to users to participate in on-
line surveys. A letter of request sent directly to the
user, with an embedded hyperlink opening directly
to the survey, provides for an easy and immediate
response. The more complicated the task the less
likelihood of users participating, particularly if it
is voluntary. When designing an online survey it
is best to keep it short, with 10 or less questions
preferred. Questions might include demographic
information about users, prior experiences of ICT
and what they would like.
Ease of completion is a central consideration
with the survey preferably taking 10 minutes or
less to complete. Open questions provide rich
qualitative data about users' needs and experi-
ences as well as the terminology they use. Closed
questions provide aggregate numbers and can be
useful when collecting demographic information
and for asking users for rankings or ratings of ICT
applications, the data analysis being quicker and
easier than responses to open ended questions.
Time and resources available for compiling and
analyzing data will influence the number and type
of questions asked. More detailed information can
be gained in a further online survey, individual
interview or focus group.

focus groups

Focus groups are a commonly used research tech-
nique, particularly amongst social work research-