Event Description
This session is being delivered in collaboration with HLI and ALIA Research Advisory Committee.
Focus groups can be a great way for health librarians seeking to explore attitudes, perceptions, and experiences of their patrons. They can also be used as a brainstorming session to help bring in to focus the issue at hand, which can then be followed by more targeted data collection using a questionnaire or semi-structured interview. This session will outline the pros and cons of using focus groups in a health library context. Whether you're new to focus groups or looking to refine your approach, this session will provide useful insights to support your evidence-based practice!
Presenter: Katherine Howard
Dr Katherine Howard is Intersect Australia’s Digital Research Analyst for UniSA. She supports UniSA researchers by providing expertise in various digital tools and technologies, facilitating access to NCI’s HPC (Gadi), and coordinating Intersect’s training program for UniSA staff and students. Katherine’s background is in Information Science and she has extensive national and international experience as a researcher and academic. Katherine was most recently a Research Fellow with the ARC-funded ‘Library and Information Science Research in Australia’ (LISRA) project, aimed at enabling and encouraging research in Australia’s library and information profession. Prior to this, she was an Early Career Development Fellow at RMIT; has held academic positions at QUT and UniSA; and undertaken sessional work with Curtin University and Charles Sturt University. Dr Howard has received many scholarships and research awards. She was awarded a two-year scholarship to undertake the Erasmus Mundus International Master in Digital Library Learning, studying with world-renowned Information Science scholars in Norway, Estonia and Italy. Katherine was the first person outside of North America to win a Eugene Garfield Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, and her PhD, completed at QUT, was nominated for an Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award. Katherine’s research focuses on new and emerging roles for information professionals, particularly around data science, research data management, and in the GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) sector. She also has a keen interest in the Digital Humanities.
ALIA Competencies:
C2: Reference and Research Services
C7: Health Research
When
Tuesday, 16 September 2025
1.00pm to 2.00pm (AEST)
Where
Online webinar Zoom - a link will be sent the day prior.
This event will be recorded and sent to attendees following the event.
Cost
ALIA Members - Free
Non-Members - $22
By registering for this webinar you are granting the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and its representatives the right to use, reproduce, and publish audio and video recordings of your participation in the webinar. By registering you are indicating that you understand and agree that these recordings may be used for promotional, educational, and informational purposes, including but not limited to, marketing materials, online platforms, social media, and any other medium deemed appropriate by ALIA.
More information
Conditions of Registration & Attendance Policy
Registrations will be confirmed by email.
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Cancellation Policy
- Registrations up to 3 weeks prior = full refund
- Registrations between 1-2 weeks prior = 50% refund
- Registrations cancelled 1 week prior or later = no refund
- Registrations $10 and under = no refund due to administrative costs
Registrations can be transferred to other individuals at no cost (in the same registration category).
Contact enquiry@alia.org.au for information.