Abstract
Over the past 5 years researchers from the Institute of Child Protection Studies have talked with vulnerable children and young people in an attempt to better understand their lives, their perceptions and how they might be better supported around issues such as homelessness, parental drug and alcohol use, caring, juvenile justice and out of home care. Researchers have confronted a myriad of challenges in recruiting, meaningfully engaging and supporting the participation of children with diverse needs and preferences as well as presenting their findings in a way that is helpful to both commissioning bodies and for children and young people. This paper, whilst drawing on current literature, predominantly provides a series of reflections from researchers working with vulnerable children and young people and from young participants themselves about some of the ethical and practical challenges that have emerged when talking to children and young people about sensitive issues. Specifically this paper will discuss issues concerning gatekeepers, children’s participation and their rights to whether how and when to be involved.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Canberra is the in capital city of Australia with a population of approximately 340,000
References
Alderson, P. (2003). Children as researchers: The effects of participatory rights on research methodology. In P. Christensen & A. James (Eds.), Research with children: Perspectives and practices (pp. 9–35). London: London Farmer Press.
Alderson, P., & Morrow, V. (2005). Ethics, social research and consulting with children and young people. Essex: Barnardos.
Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth & New South Wales Commission for Children and Young People (Eds.). (2009) Involving children and young people in research [electronic resource] A compendium of papers and reflections from a think tank co‐hosted by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth and the NSW Commissioner for Children and Young People on 11 November 2008. Sydney: ARACY & NSWCCYP.
Barker, J., & Weller, S. (2003). ‘Never work with children?’: the geography of methodological issues in research with children. Qualitative Research, 3(2), 207–227.
Bessell (2009) Research with children: Thinking about method and methodology. in Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth & New South Wales Commission for Children and Young People (Eds.). (2009) Involving children and young people in research [electronic resource] A compendium of papers and reflections from a think tank co‐hosted by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth and the NSW Commissioner for Children and Young People on 11 November 2008. Sydney: ARACY & NSWCCYP
Best, A. L. (2007). Representing youth: Methodological issues in critical youth studies. New York: New York University Press.
Christensen, P. (2004). Children’s participation in ethnographic research: issues of power and representation. Children and Society, 18, 165–176.
Christensen, P., & James, A. (Eds.). (2008). Researching children and childhood. Cultures of communication (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
Christensen, P., & Prout, A. (2002). Working with ethical symmetry in social research with children. Childhood, 9(4), 477–494.
Cockburn, T. (2005). Children’s participation in social policy: inclusion, chimera or authenticity? Social Policy & Society, 4(2), 109–119.
Coles, J., & Mudaly, N. (2010). Staying safe: strategies for qualitative child abuse researchers. Child Abuse Review, 19, 56–69.
Corsaro, W. (2005). The sociology of childhood. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Darlington, Y., & Scott, D. (2002). Qualitative research in practice: Stories from the field. Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin.
Davis, J. (2009). Involving children. In K. Tisdall, B. Gallagher, & J. Davis (Eds.), Researching with children and young people: Research design, methods and analysis. London: Sage Publications.
Dockett, S., Einarsdottir, J., & Perry, B. (2009). Researching with children: ethical tensions. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 7, 283.
Farrell, A. (2005). Ethical research with children. Berkshire: Open University Press.
Farrell, A., Tayler, C., Tennent, L., & Gahan, D. (2002). Listening to children: a study of child and family services. Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development, 22(1), 27–38.
France, A. (2004). Young people. In S. Fraser, V. Lewis, S. Ding, M. Kellet, & C. Robinson (Eds.), Doing research with children and young people. London: Sage Publications.
Fraser, S (2004). Doing research with children and young people. In S. Fraser, V. Lewis, S. Ding, M. Kellett. & C. Robinson (Eds). Doing research with children and young people. London: Sage Publications
Harcourt, D (2009) Standpoints on quality: Young children as competent research participants. in Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth & New South Wales Commission for Children and Young People (Eds.). (2009) Involving children and young people in research [electronic resource] A compendium of papers and reflections from a think tank cohosted by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth and the NSW Commissioner for Children and Young People on 11 November 2008. Sydney: ARACY & NSWCCYP
Hart, R. (1992). Children’s participation from tokenism to citizenship. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.
Heath, S., Charles, V., Crow, G., & Wiles, R. (2007). Informed consent, gatekeepers and gobetweens: negotiating consent in child and youth-orientated institutions. British Educational Research Journal, 33(3), 403–417.
Heptinstall, E. (2000). Research note. Gaining access to looked after children for research purposes: lessons learned. British Journal of Social Work, 30(6), 867.
James, A., & Christensen, P. M. (1999). Research with children: Perspectives and practices. New York: Falmer Press.
James, A., & Christensen, P. M. (2008). Research with children: Perspectives and practices (2nd ed.). London; Routledge.
Kellett, M. (2005). Children as active researchers: a new research paradigm for the 21st century? NCRM Methods Review Papers. Retrieved from www.ncrm.ac.uk/publications.
Kirby, P. (2004) A Guide to Actively Involving Young People as Researchers. Eastleigh: Involve
Kreuger, R. A. (1988). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research. London: Sage.
Lister, M. R. A. (2007). From object to subject: including marginalised citizens in policy making. Policy & Politics, 35(3), 2007, 437–455
Mayall, B. (2000). Sociology of childhood in relation to children’s rights. International Journal of Children’s Rights, 8, 243–259.
Mayall, B. (2001). The sociology of childhood in relation to children’s rights. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 8, 243–259.
Moore, T., Morrow, R., McArthur, M., Noble-Carr, D., & Gray, J. (2006). Reading writing and responsibility: Young carers and education. Canberra: Institute of Child Protection Studies, ACU National.
Moore, T., Bennett, B., & McArthur, M. (2007). They’ve gotta listen: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in out of home care. Canberra: Institute of Child Protection Studies, ACU National.
Moore, T., McArthur, M., & Noble-Carr, D. (2007). Finding their way home: Children’s experiences of homelessness. Canberra: Institute of Child Protection Studies, ACU National.
Moore, T., McArthur, M., & Noble-Carr, D. (2008). Little voices and big ideas: lessons learned from children about research. International Journal of Qualitative Methodology, 7(2), 77–91.
Nieuwenhuys, O. (2004). Participatory action research in the majority world. In S. Fraser, V. Lewis, S. Ding, M. Kellet, & C. Robinson (Eds.), Doing research with children and young people. London: Sage Publications.
Noble-Carr, D. (2007). Literature review: Engaging children in research on sensitive issues. Dickson, A.C.T.: Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University.
Noble-Carr, D., Moore, T., & McArthur, M. (2009). Who cares?: Experiences of young people living with a family member who has an alcohol or other drug issue. Canberra: Institute of Child Protection Studies, ACU National.
O’Brien, N., & Moules, T. (2007). So round the spiral again: a reflective participatory research project with children and young people. Educational Action Research, 15(3), 385–402.
O’Kane, C. (Ed.). (2008). The development of participatory techniques (2nd ed.). London: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.
Punch, S. (2002). Reseach with children: The same or different from research with adults. Childhood, 9(3), 321–341.
Qvortrup, J., Bardy, M., Sgritta, G., & Wintersberger, H. (Eds.). (1994). Childhood matters: Social theory, practice and politics. Aldershot: Avebury.
Saunders, V., McArthur, M., & Moore, T. (2009) Children affected by separation and divorce – A scoping study. Canberra: Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University.
Stasilius, D. (2002). The active child citizen: Lessons from Canadian policy and the children’s movement. Citizenship Studies, 6(4), 507–538.
Walker, J., Crawford, K., & Taylor, F. (2008). Listening to children: gaining a perspective of the experiences of poverty and social exclusion from children and young people of single-parent families. Health & Social Care in the Community, 16(4), 429–436.
Woodhead, M., & Faulkner, D. (Eds.). (2008). Subjects, objects or participants (2nd ed.). London: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the children and young people who have participated in our research projects. As well as sharing with us their stories and views about the topics we were researching, children and young people provided us with important insights into how to best work with them through the research project. We would also like to acknowledge our research partners and funders without whose shared commitment to research with children and young people we would not have had the resources to invest in projects that actively engage them.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
The studies mentioned in this paper have involved children and young people between the ages of 6 and 18 years. Throughout this paper we have used the term children to represent both younger children and young people.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Moore, T., Saunders, V. & McArthur, M. Championing Choice—Lessons Learned from Children and Young People About Research and Their Involvement. Child Ind Res 4, 249–267 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-010-9083-1
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-010-9083-1