Pawson wails, ‘complexity, complexity, complexity’, in relation to evaluation, but he could just as well be speaking of information needs analysis (INA). For some reason the common view among information professionals is that INA is a mysteriously complex undertaking. Perhaps this is because they lack experience in this type of applied investigation; as in almost any endeavour, lack of experience makes something seem more daunting than it actually is. If in contrast information workers see INA as simple and straightforward, they lack INA experience, or perhaps see it as something related just to information literacy. In reality INA is neither more complex nor simpler than any other kind of investigation in the social sciences. But the aura of complexity remains the standard view of INA, and this has been a key motivation for writing this book. In the book we seek to show that, with a step-by-step approach to the theory, process and procedures of INA, readers will understand that it is a straightforward type of applied research with information in a variety of information contexts as its focus. In other words INA is not necessarily the complex beast that many assume it to be.

A second motivation for this book is a desire to help our readers better realize that INA is ubiquitous in society and that it is not the preserve of information professionals or information organizations. In the information-rich developed world, where the majority enjoy ready and rapid access to information, it is essential to understand that we are all engaged in INA at some level, and that if we are not, then we are the poorer for it in our professional, social and private lives.

Introduction

Chapter 5 introduced several methods for gathering data for INAs. Following that introductory chapter, Chapter 6 then began the in-depth discussion of methods by addressing the use of existing, or historical, data. Chapter 7 now continues the in-depth discussion by focusing on the survey, a quantitative data-gathering tool frequently used in INAs. Before continuing it is necessary to say that surveys are not the only source of quantitative data; numerical data can be collected from a variety of sources ranging from interviews and observations to web server log files. The survey, though, is by far the most common method for collecting quantitative data for INA.

A well designed quantitative study can produce reliable, robust, generalizable results. Chapter 5 noted that surveys can produce data for an INA to show, for example, that end-users favour one kind of information resource over another, or that clients are dissatisfied with a specific element of the information service. Another common method of collecting data for an INA, the use of structured groups, is discussed in Chapter 8; and the analysis and integration of data are covered in Chapter 9.

In this chapter the focus on surveys as a data-gathering method addresses three principal questions:

• 1 Most basically, what is a survey, and how do surveys fit into INA?

• 2 What are the planning procedures for conducting a survey?

• 3 How do we conduct a survey?

What is a survey?

Surveys as part of an INA project

The methods used to collect data within an INA may be simple or multi-faceted. Sometimes in an INA a survey is the only method of data gathering employed, but often a survey is used in conjunction with other research methods in a mixed methods process (introduced in Chapter 5). Thus a survey of a particular client group may be used as part of a concurrent or sequential series of data-gathering exercises that might include examining existing data (see Chapter 6) and gathering qua litative information through interviews, focus groups and other methods (see Chapter 8).

Survey results can suggest patterns in actions and behaviour (telling us what is happening), while the qualitative methods of data gathering are more appropriate for exploring why something is occurring based on the opinions and attitudes of the people involved.

Introduction

This chapter provides guidance on using existing data in INAs. Existing data can be obtained from a wide variety of sources and can take many different forms. In some INAs the gathering of new information might not be required because enough data already exist. In many INAs the investigators will use existing information to establish the background and context as the first step in their planning. And, bearing in mind the complexities as well as the staffing and other costs involved in employing the quantitative and qualitative methods described in Chapters 7 and 8, using existing data can be an effective and efficient approach for conducting all or part of an INA.

Useful INA data can be found in such existing resources as published statistics documents from government agencies and professional associations, from local sources such as chambers of commerce and in internal administrative forms and records, including those generated by computer systems. The wide variety of existing data is reflected in the many uses to which they are applied in INAs. In some instances the data can be very recent, whereas in others data can go back over a lengthy period of time. As a result, existing data can be what is sometimes referred to as historical data, and an investigator might be required to undertake some historical research for all or part of an INA. For example in the chapter ‘Historical Investigation’ in Gorman and Clayton's Qualitative Research for the Information Professional, Shep points out that ‘historical data on an information service's evolving client service priorities may be essential as a basis for decisions concerning services to, say, particular ethnic groups in a multicultural social context’ (Shep, 2005, 161).

The benefit of using existing data in a needs analysis requires little explanation. Data created within an organization (or community) can tell us much about the nature of the organization itself, for example: the way the organization sees itself through its mission, objectives, products and services; its clients; the way communication takes place within the organization; and what it values.

Introduction

In this chapter we identify different levels, models and types of needs analysis generally (as distinct from INA specifically) that are discussed in the literature across a variety of disciplines. The purpose of this is to distinguish key features and themes related to needs analysis models. We also examine the application of some of these models to information management (IM) contexts, and ultimately we draw upon the key elements of these models to develop our own models of INA.

When reading this chapter it is important to note the following points. Because we are often referring to the literature, we use the term ‘needs assessment’ when it has been used by the authors we are referencing, and we use the term ‘needs analysis’ when providing our own points of view and when developing our own models. And, when discussing IM contexts, we are generally talking about situations in which information services, programmes or products are being considered, planned, implemented or evaluated. However, rather than continually repeating the terms ‘services, programmes or products’ we simply use the term ‘services’ as shorthand for all three.

The purpose of this chapter, in brief, is to address three questions:

• 1 What are the levels of INA?

• 2 How do we identify different models and types of INA?

• 3 What contextual factors must be considered when undertaking INAs?

We begin our search for answers to these questions with a brief analysis of relevant literature.

The literature

When scanning the literature on needs analyses and assessment, we soon recognize that there are many perspectives used to group needs analyses into different categories or types. Some writers categorize needs analyses into levels based on the scope or coverage with respect to the target groups, whereas other writers identify models based on the breadth of outcomes expected or the extent or types of changes that are possible with respect to the specific contexts giving rise to and INA.

We now examine specific examples from the broader literature that illustrate various ways in which models of needs analysis have been categorized. Primary focus is on literature from international development and management, human resources development and especially education, with particular attention to the work of Kaufman and English (1979) and Witkin and Altschuld (1995).

Introduction

In Chapter 1 we discussed the meaning of ‘need’ as distinct from ‘want’ and ‘demand’ and used this discussion as a platform for defining INA. However, we did not discuss the essentially contextual nature of those situations in which information needs arise, and therefore the contextual nature of all INAs. This is the purpose of Chapter 2: to place INA in a contextual framework, whether this is a more general cultural context or specific to a particular level (users, providers, resources). The variety of contexts is the overriding theme of this chapter. The second theme is that data do not exist in a vacuum, and on their own they have no intrinsic value – that is, the data of INA are also context-specific.

This statement reminds us that different groups have different needs, and these needs are serviced in a variety of ways in varying contexts according to specific local requirements.

For example, there are x entries beginning with the letter ‘J’ in the Manchester telephone directory (available at www.whitepages.co.uk/england/white-pages-manchester. html); that number is a datum, but without any intrinsic value. If, however, we were seeking a list of names and addresses of medical practitioners in Manchester, this would be a different matter. As this book is being written nowhere near Manchester, such data have no value to us; but should we be in Manchester in the near future, then it could well become information that accords with a need at that time, thus becoming of value. The worth, or value, of information and information services depends on context.

No individual or group has an information need per se (Nicholas and Herman, 2009). That is, any community, group or individual has an information need for a specific purpose and within a particular context. Information needs are most likely to be associated with contexts such as the demands of employment, formal or informal study, the need for more efficient operations within an organization, or some social or cultural activity.

Introduction

In Chapter 5 we provided an overview of the main methods for gathering the data required for an INA in different information management contexts. In this chapter we look specifically at the use of individuals and groups as a source of data in INAs.

The main questions driving this chapter are:

• ♦ What is the value of gathering data from individuals in an INA?

• ♦ What are the main methods of qualitative data collection?

• ♦ How do focus groups function?

• ♦ What are the uses of observation in data gathering?

We thus begin by explaining the value of using individuals and groups in INAs, and then we describe the main methods of qualitative data collection, especially the use of focus groups.

Those familiar with qualitative research will find that it is relatively easy to transfer qualitative methods they have used in research to an INA. Both are processes for enquiry that gather data from the perspectives of the subjects of the investigation (or from key individuals who interact closely with the subject group) in order to help the investigator form a better understanding of what is happening and recommend improvements to the current situation. Both assume that meaning can be found in the context of relevant events, actions and interactions, which in the academic world would place most qualitative research in the interpretive paradigm. Both assume that the best way to understand such events and actions is through close engagement with people most directly involved in those events and actions. Further, both approaches assume that we can gather rich data from those most closely involved by talking with them or actually watching them while they are involved in the events of relevance to the INA.

Some aspects of qualitative research are not present in INA: often the investigator is not looking for ‘new knowledge’ to present to the world, nor is there necessarily any theory building involved. Given these points, it is somewhat paradoxical that the best definition we can find for qualitative methods for INA happens to come from a research methods text (thankfully, in this definition there is no reference to theory or any of the other elements commonly associated with academic research):

Introduction

Needs analysis, or information needs analysis (INA), is a practice-based activity conducted mostly, but not exclusively, by an information manager, usually in relation to user and community needs. Typically, such a person, or team of people, simply roll up their sleeves and get ‘stuck in’. Perhaps there has been a flurry of e-mail exchanges with others who have done a needs analysis, and some anecdotal evidence has been gathered about how to approach this activity. Unfortunately, needs analysis is, like any research, an activity that requires careful planning, including an understanding of precisely what needs analysis is.

In this opening chapter we address a number of preliminary questions which must be understood in order to have a good grasp of INA and the INA process. Specifically,

• ♦ What is ‘needs analysis’ and how does it differ from ‘needs assessment’?

• ♦ What are ‘needs’, and what is the difference between ‘wants’ and ‘needs’?

• ♦ How important are value judgements in identifying needs and solutions?

• ♦ What are the various kinds of needs that might emerge in an information setting?

• ♦ How do we identify needs in an information setting?

To use this book effectively, and hence to undertake effective INA, it is necessary for readers to understand the meaning of certain key concepts. The concept of ‘need’ and the distinction between ‘need’ and ‘want’, for example, are central to this book, as is the distinction between information needs analysis and information needs assessment. How, indeed, do we define ‘need’ and ‘needs analysis’ in the context of information work? What types of INA might one undertake, and why do so in the first place? These are all questions and issues that should be addressed by anyone prior to conducting an information needs analysis.

Information needs analysis rather than information needs Assessment

At the most basic level we can view INA as an investigative process that allows us to identify and analyse the information-related needs of a particular group in a specific context and the use of that data to inform a decision. Information needs analysis includes the identification of information needs, the analysis of the needs so that they are understood and the assessment of the needs with respect to the impending decision.

Introduction

We are now at the end of the process, both figuratively and literally. In this final chapter of the book we examine the last stage of an INA process – reporting the results. There is no single way to write such a report, so our comments here must be viewed as suggestions rather than specifications. Each INA will have a unique purpose and context, and there may well be organizational requirements for formatting or target audience expectations for terminology that prescribe aspects of the written project report. Therefore, it is best to clarify those prior to putting fingers to keyboard.

For some INA projects the requirements will be spelled out clearly, for example when the investigator has a contract containing specifications for the work. The contract might include instructions on the nature and extent of the final report and specify all the topics/problems that must be addressed and a maximum word length.

INAs can be presented in written format and/or verbally, so both are covered in this chapter, the majority of which concentrates on the formal report written at the end of the analysis. Other short sections discuss the use of draft reports, oral presentations and less conventional means of communicating findings to the stakeholders.

In Chapter 4 we stated that reporting the results is Stage 4, that is, the final stage, of the INA process, coming after preparation, data gathering and data analysis (see Figure 4.1, p. 68). At the reporting stage the investigator presents a review of the investigation's findings and seeks to determine a range of likely cause-and-effect relationships. On the basis of these relationships a range of possible interventions might be suggested to address the needs that the analysis has highlighted or exposed. That is, the recommendation of a set of possible context-specific solutions is articulated in the report. Thus one purpose of a report is to present the findings; another is to serve as a permanent record of the analysis.

Regardless of whether the INA has been requested internally or commissioned by an external body, it has been requested because someone believes that some sort of a problem exists.

Introduction

Following the definition of needs analysis in Chapter 1 –

– we now turn to the practical elements of this definition. Specifically, needs analysis in information settings is a process that involves delineating, obtaining and applying information to determine what is needed to serve a specified (defensible) purpose. These three key words – delineating, obtaining, applying – are at the core of all needs analyses and should be evident throughout any INA activity or project.

In an information setting the needs analysis process should be seen as contributing to two essential activities in the proactive management of services, facilities and staff. First, the process should help determine what needs exist and how they might best be met. Second, the process should provide benchmark criteria for evaluating the merits of whatever is being investigated (systems, buildings, staff, services, collections) to determine the extent to which the specified needs are being met.

It is against the background of these activities that we set out to address three main questions in this chapter:

• 1 What are the principal stages of INA?

• 2 What are the main activities in each of these stages?

• 3 How are these activities interrelated?

Four stages of needs analysis

To meet the needs of either type of activity just noted the needs analysis process typically embodies a four-stage set of activities, with an additional pair of post-intervention activities that are not properly part of the analysis process; this process is visualized in Figure 4.1. An INA per se ceases when the data about the needs have been gathered and analysed, and a range of possible context-specific solutions suggested. Putting these solutions into operation and then evaluating the results belong properly to ex post analysis.

The recursive nature of INA research

Each of these four principal stages is now outlined in turn. However, the investigator must remember that this is not a strictly linear process and that in fact a number of activities may occur simultaneously because of the complexity of the target group, community or organization.

Introduction

The data-gathering stage is central to any INA project. As noted in Chapter 4, information gathering is the second of four stages in the INA process, and it has a recursive relationship with the delineation or planning stage – that is, decisions about the means by which the data will be gathered must be based on careful planning. The centrality of the data-gathering stage is further evident by its recursive relationship with the subsequent data analysis stage.

This chapter provides an overview of the main methods for gathering the data necessary to identify and understand information needs in different information management contexts. As is the case in any research project, the method(s) selected in an INA project will depend on a wide range of contextual variables. Accordingly, in this chapter we seek answers to a number of data-gathering questions, specifically:

• ♦ How is the choice of data collection method related to the purpose of the INA?

• ♦ What factors should be considered when choosing a data-gathering method?

• ♦ How will existing data be used?

• ♦ What are the advantages and disadvantages of surveys in needs analysis?

• ♦ What are the advantages and disadvantages of interviews in needs analysis?

• ♦ What are the advantages and disadvantages of focus groups in needs analysis?

• ♦ What other methods can be used?

How we have reached this juncture

In Chapter 1 we identified three general levels of needs from Witkin and Altschuld (1995):

• ♦ Level 1 (primary) – the needs of the service receivers

• ♦ Level 2 (secondary) – the needs of the service providers and policymakers

• ♦ Level 3 (tertiary) – the needs related to the resources or solutions.

In Chapter 2 we discussed the importance of context in INA. We stated that an INA is never context-free and that the better the investigator recognizes this feature, the more reliable data he or she will collect about the environment, and the more adequate will be the resulting analysis of information needs of specific groups within that environment.

In Chapter 3 we noted that the three general levels of needs provide a framework for contextualizing information needs. These levels allow us to establish whether the analysis involves gathering data from and/or about people who are inside (service users, providers and policymakers) or outside the system (non-users).

Introduction

In this chapter we focus on the analysis and integration of data that have been gathered to identify and make decisions about the information needs being investigated. In an INA project the analysis and integration of data occur not only towards the end of the project but also must be done to varying degrees throughout the project and for different purposes at different times.

In Chapter 4 we identified the four stages of INA projects: (1) preparation, (2) information (or data) gathering, (3) information (or data) analysis and (4) reporting the results. (Note that here we will refer to ‘data gathering’ rather than ‘information gathering’ and ‘data analysis’ rather than ‘information analysis’.) As explained below, the INA process is not strictly a linear one. It is iterative, so the information analysis stage may occur several times during a larger INA project, requiring the investigator to integrate several types of data.

In this chapter we examine when and how to analyse the information collected to determine the needs of the target group, bearing in mind that the project might involve several iterations of the various stages. We look at both qualitative and quantitative types of data and the processes used to analyse them. The extent of an analysis will depend on why the information was gathered, with analyses conducted during Stage 2 usually requiring more detail than those conducted during Stage 1 of an INA. Regardless of the stage at which data analysis is being undertaken, any issues that might affect the validity and reliability of the results must be considered.

Worth remembering is that INAs are not conducted solely to provide diagnostic data about the information needs of individuals; rather, they are conducted for a range of specific purposes, such as to determine priorities for providing new resources, programmes or systems, or to make improvements to existing ones, for groups in specific information-related contexts. The purpose must be kept in mind when making decisions throughout the INA. Also worth remembering is that the data analysis is intertwined with the kind of reporting expected from the investigation. If the INA requires formal reporting, then it probably will be necessary to apply procedures for analysing data that are recommended in academic research texts, but there will be times when other, perhaps less complex, data analysis methods are more appropriate.