Research findings (University of Bradford)

As part of the project, the project officer and students conducted surveys and focus groups to gather information on the types of digital communities that exist at the University of Bradford. This research informed and shaped our resources that are available to download and use. 

We decided to use a mixed methods approach in order to capture rich qualitative data that could be supported by quantitative data. Surveys and focus groups were chosen as the data collection methods because the former helps gather a collective sample of views and experiences while the latter allows for more in-depth understanding of an individual's experiences. 

Due to the nature of the project and the three separate strands, we had separate sets of questions for our separate audiences. Therefore, we created three surveys (one for each strand) and we conducted 4 focus groups - 1 with students relating to specialist interest groups and 3 relating to their courses.

It is important to note that due to the time of year, engagement was low from students, and we did not have time to conduct focus groups with staff. Nevertheless, we used the quantitative data to support the qualitative data so that we could make sense of the research, which can be defined as an embedded approach. 

The below report outlines what we found.