Planning the focus groups
Groups were planned to involve Year 9 pupils,
accessed through secondary schools in Liverpool.
Teenagers of this age (13–14 years) have formed
close links with peers, are concerned with image,
are relatively independent from their parents and
have sufficient vocabulary, comprehension skills
and maturity to contribute in discussions [9, 22, 26,
27]. Groups were to have six to eight participants
[22]. Participants within groups were to share
some characteristics in order to assist in sharing
experiences [37]. Therefore, children within individual
groups were to be from the same school, of
the same year group and of the same gender. Suggested
guidelines on the duration of focus groups
involving children (