A qualitative focus group approach was selected to ‘‘uncover
factors that influence opinions, behavior, or motivation’’ (Krueger
& Casey, 2000, p. 24) surrounding the perceived influence of social
media on young adult health behaviors. Focus groups have been
shown to be effective in health (Neumark-Sztainer, Story, Perry,
& Casey, 1999) and social media (McLaughlin & Vitak, 2012)
research. To ensure saturation (i.e., themes become repetitive as
additional focus groups are implemented and by the later focus
groups no new information emerges; Krueger & Casey, 2000)
occurred, eight focus groups (m = 4.25 participants per group) were
scheduled. In-depth semi-structured interviews were also included
within this study. Using multiple approaches in qualitative
research increases the trustworthiness of the results (Vaterlaus &
Higginbotham, 2011).