Abstract
Focus groups have the potential to provide rapid and timely collation, integration and assembly of the views of a variety of different types of stakeholders into a plausible theory. This article reflects on a tertiary education institution's utilisation of focus group interviews (FGIs) as a qualitative evaluation instrument, using action research as the methodology. Our results suggest that employing focus groups is a valuable method of gaining more insight into and adding more depth to quantitative findings during quality management. Results from focus groups enable quality assurance practitioners to provide better remedial action plans. A set of guidelines is provided for the effective conducting of focus group interviews as part of an institutional quality assurance system.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Coghlan D, Brannick T (2001) Doing action research in your own organisation. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA
Ferreira M (2003) A framework for continuous improvement in the South African higher education sector, Unpublished DPhil Thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria
Gibbs A (1997) Focus groups. Available from http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/sru/SRU19.html
Greenbaum T (1998) 10 Tips for running successful focus groups. Available from http://groupsplus. com/pages/mn091498.htm
Geenbaum T (1977) Using focus groups to add depth to your focus on quality. Available from http://www.groupsplus.com/pages/quality.htm
Henning E (2004) Finding your way in qualitative research. Van Schaik, Pretoria
Lichtenstein L, Swatman PMC (2003) Seeking success in E-business: a multidisciplinary approach. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, MA, USA
McNamara C (1999) Basics of conducting focus groups. Available from http://www/mapnp.org/library/evaluatn/focusgrp/htm
Morgan DL (1998) The focus group guidebook: focus group kit 1. Sage, London
Oakland JS (1998) Total quality management. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford
Page C, Meyer D (2000) Applied research design for business and management. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Australia
Zuber-Skerritt O (1993) Improving learning and teaching through action learning and action research. Higher Educ Res Dev 12:45–58
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brits, H., du Plessis, L. Application of Focus Group Interviews for Quality Management: An Action Research Project. Syst Pract Act Res 20, 117–126 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11213-006-9054-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11213-006-9054-0