Qualitative methods for engaging students in performance measurement
| Pages | 64-76 |
| Published date | 08 January 2018 |
| Date | 08 January 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-09-2017-0093 |
| Author | Leo Appleton |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services |
Qualitative methods for
engaging students in
performance measurement
Leo Appleton
Library Services, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK
Abstract
Purpose –In the modern “student focused”university setting, quality assurance and continual service
improvementhave become more and more important in the delivery of academiclibrary services. Working in
partnership with their students,academic libraries can enable meaningful engagement, through qualitative
methods which allow individual students to contribute to performance measurement activities and service
development.The purpose of this paper is to discuss how qualitative methods can be usedto engage students
in the performancemeasurement activities of academic libraries.
Design/methodology/approach –Through a review of relevantliterature, discussion around the main
themes and some case study examples, this paper illustrates how effective student engagement through
qualitative methods can contributeto the quality assurance, performance measurement and ultimateservice
improvementof academic libraries.
Findings –The paper focuses specifically on focus group and reflective methods and also details some
elements of user experience (UX) which brings together different qualitative techniques available for
academic libraries. The paperconcludes with a feature case study which discusses how meaningfulstudent
engagementwas achieved through a large-scale UX project at the Universityof the Arts, London.
Originality/value –The paper brings togethermany different discussions around qualitativemethods in
performance measurement and is original in its discussions around such activity as student engagement
initiatives.
Keywords Qualitative methods, Ethnography, User experience, Academic libraries,
Student engagement, Focus groups
Paper type General review
Background and introduction
This article will look at how libraries can engage with students in their performance
measurement activities. In the modern “student focused”university setting, quality
assurance and continual service improvement have become increasingly important in the
delivery of academic library services.Working in partnership with their students, academic
libraries can enable meaningful engagement, through qualitative methods which allow
individual students to contribute to service development. Student engagement within
universities is not a new phenomenon, but clarity as to what makes a strong student
partnership has become moreand more important as students and their institutions seek to
define what sort of “collaborations”they are involved in together (Streeting and Wise, 2009).
Working together on “quality”is onesuch area and this manifests itself in libraries through
engagement in performance measurement. The 2011 white paper Higher Education:
Students at the Heart of the System set out a clear strategy for making the higher education
system in the UK more accountable to students and to put them into a stronger position to
influence the sector (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 2011), and more
recently, this has been further validated through the 2016 white paper Success as a
ILS
119,1/2
64
Received20 September 2017
Revised20 September 2017
Accepted28 November 2017
Informationand Learning Science
Vol.119 No. 1/2, 2018
pp. 64-76
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-09-2017-0093
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