Course Information
| Session |
|---|
| Credits | 1.5 CEUs or 15 PDHs |
|---|---|
| Registration dates | We accept registrations through the first week of classes, unless enrollment is full, and unless the class was canceled before it started due to low enrollment. |
Getting to Know Your Users through Interviews and Focus Groups
$175.00
Dates: March 1 - March 28Credits: 1.5 CEUs or 15 PDHs
How do we know what our library users are thinking? Listen to their stories! The purpose of interviewing is to discover the in-depth experiences and perceptions of others—just what we need to know about our ever-changing clients. This course provides participants with the basics in good interviewing techniques and tips, including interview structure, length, and interviewer demeanor. Participants will learn how to ask the right questions and follow up smoothly to gather more detail. Participants will learn how to interpret and report respondents’ stories reliably and accurately, and to recognize and correct interviewer bias. The course will provide readings, exercises, discussion, and online resources.
Course Description
How do we know what our library users are thinking? Listen to their stories! The purpose of interviewing is to discover the in-depth experiences and perceptions of others—just what we need to know about our ever-changing clients. This course provides participants with the basics in good interviewing techniques and tips, including interview structure, length, and interviewer demeanor. Participants will learn how to ask the right questions and follow up smoothly to gather more detail. Participants will learn how to interpret and report respondents’ stories reliably and accurately, and to recognize and correct interviewer bias. The course will provide readings, exercises, discussion, and online resources.
At the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Recognize fitting topics for interviews, and select suitable respondents
- Understand how to make contact and establish rapport with potential respondents
- Design interview questions, and understand how to order questions and follow up for best effect
- Implement typical best practices in conducting interviews
- Interpret and report interview data accurately and reliably.
This course can be taken as one of six courses needed to earn our Certificate in User Experience (UX), but can be taken as a stand-alone course as well.
Jennifer Sweeney
Jennifer Sweeney is a program evaluation consultant for libraries, other public agencies, and nonprofits, and lecturer at San Jose State University, Simmons College, and Drexel University. Dr. Sweeney developed measurement instruments for K-16 educational interventions for the University of California, Davis School of Education, and provided evaluation services for the California Center for the Book, the California Library Association, and Smith & Lehmann Consulting. Previously, she was library analyst at the UC Davis Library, reference librarian at the American University Library in Washington, DC, and business librarian with Cost Engineering Research, Inc. in Arlington, VA.
How to Register
To enroll yourself or other participants in a class, use the “Register” button that follows the description of each course. If the “Register” button does not show up, try loading the page in a different web browser. Contact us if you have technical difficulties using our shopping cart system or would like to pay for an enrollment using another method. On the payment page in the shopping cart system, there is a place to add notes, such as the names and email addresses of participants you wish to enroll. We will contact you to request this information in response to your processed payment if you do not include it in the “notes” field. Prior to the start of the workshop, we will send participants their login instructions.Payment Info
Our shopping cart system allows you to pay with a credit card, with PayPal, or to indicate that you'll be sending a check.Alternatively, if it is an institutional payment, we can arrange to invoice you. Contact us by email, and we can make arrangements to suit your institution's business processes.
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