Focus groups with children: Do they work?

A considerable literature exists on the focus group as a research technique, and the major methodological guidelines are widely shared. It is still relatively uncommon, however, for LIS researchers to employ this methodology when exploring the information-seeking behaviour of children (in contrast to adults); experimentation or observation here are the norm. The paper reports on the authors' experience of organizing focus groups with children in order to explore their opinions on currently available web-based portals designed for children, and how these might be improved. These focus groups represent the final stage in a large-scale research project into the information-seeking behaviour of elementary school children in electronic environments. Focus groups comprising children rather than adults can provide a valuable methodological toot for researchers. In such cases, however, not only must the general guidelines for organizing and running focus groups be carefully considered, but a number of additional factors relating specifically to children must be introduced if the sessions are to provide valid and reliable data.