Attitudes towards the use of mouth and face guards in Swedish ice hockey: Part I: Materials and method

Abstract

Background/aim: The most common method to study the use and attitudes of mouth and face guards is a limited number of preprepared questions. This approach, however, risks information restriction and lowers the general value of the study. The aim of this study was therefore to present a phenomenographic approach to capture the use and attitudes towards mouth and face guards in two Swedish ice hockey clubs. Materials and method: The phenomenographic study was set up as 12 focus group interviews: six interviews with one elite and six interviews with one division 3 ice hockey club in Sweden. A number of categories were identified, which became the basis for how the results are presented. Results: The participants inspired each other to speak freely, which allowed for much wider and deeper discussions than was expected. In comparison with the use of a preprepared questionnaire with a limited number of questions sent home by post, this method included comments from the participants and revealed new angles of approach in 12 identified categories. Conclusions: Using a phenomenographic research method, more variations and different apprehensions could be revealed than what would be possible with a set of preprepared questions sent by post or used in individual interviews. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.