Hearing children's voices: methodological issues in conducting focus groups with children aged 7-11 years

Abstract

Children are increasingly acknowledged to have rights in the determination of decisions that affect them. This has encouraged research to be undertaken with children themselves to understand their own views, experiences and relationships, and has demonstrated a considerable gulf from parental concerns and observations. Methods for research with children are, however, relatively under-developed. This article reflects on our experience of conducting focus groups with children aged 7-11 years to examine their experiences of living with asthma. It discusses the use of child-friendly techniques to promote participation and access children’s meanings, and raises issues about the size and composition of groups and recruitment strategies, group dynamics, tensions and sensitive moments. We conclude that focus groups are a valuable method for eliciting children’s views and experiences and complement personal interviews, while important questions relate to enhancing children’s participation in other stages of the research process.

'Breakfast, lunch and dinner': Attitudes to infant feeding amongst children in a Scottish primary school. A qualitative focus group study

“…First, the sample comprised children attending a single Scottish primary school and the themes which we have described may not be generalisable to other settings. Second, the study was limited by the inherent methodological problems of carrying out qualitative research with children, such as difficulties in accessing children's meanings due to differences in language and in the social worlds of children 22 . In addition, our study found variations in the degree of co-operation of the children and in their maturity and ability/willingness to participate in the focus groups.…”

Child Abuse: Listening to the Voices of Primary School Children in Alice, Eastern Cape

“…In the study conducted by Morgan, Gibbs, Maxwell and Britten (2002) on methodological issues in conducting focus groups with children, it was found that children between the ages of seven and 11 responded well to stimulus material within a focus group. The stimulus material in that study took the form of current television programmes and games that children were familiar with on the specific topic being researched (Morgan et al, 2002).…”

“…This allowed for child-friendly data collection (Chan et al, 2011;Morgan et al, 2002;Punch, 2002). Authors such as Stafford, Laybourn, Hill and Walker (2003:361) attest that it is less intimidating for children to speak in a group than in a one-to-one interview with an adult researcher.…”

The examined life: perspectives of lower primary school students in Hong Kong

“…Although a focus group carries a risk of group conformity (Sim 1998), our view was that individual interviews might be perceived as somewhat threatening to young learners. Focus group interviews are believed to be an effective way of permitting school age students to talk about their experiences and perceptions, particularly if triangulated with another method (Morgan et al 2002).…”