In the late 1980s and early 1990s a number of key writers within sociology and anthropology criticised much of the existing research on children within the social sciences as 'adultist'. This has subsequently provoked attempts by academics to define new ways of working with , not on or for, children that have been characterised by a desire to define more mutuality between adult and children in research relationships and to identify new ways that researchers can engage with young people. This (...) paper aims to address some of the ethical complexities that this work has generated by focusing on five areas of ethical concern in relation to research with children in the environments of home and school: consent; access and structures of compliance; privacy and confidentiality; methodologies and issues of power; and dissemination and advocacy. While most of these issues are not necessarily unique to working with children, but underlie many research projects, they are refracted in particular ways in child-oriented research because of the unequal relationships of power between adults and children; the way that adults mediate access to children; the legal complexities of children's position as minors; and the particular nature of the environments—school and the parental home—in which researchers usually encounter young people. (shrink)

In the late 1980s and early 1990s a number of key writers within sociology and anthropology criticised much of the existing research on children within the social sciences as ‘adultist’. This has subsequently provoked attempts by academics to define new ways of working with, not on or for, children that have been characterised by a desire to define more mutuality between adult and children in research relationships and to identify new ways that researchers can engage with young people. This paper (...) aims to address some of the ethical complexities that this work has generated by focusing on five areas of ethical concern in relation to research with children in the environments of home and school: consent; access and structures of compliance; privacy and confidentiality; methodologies and issues of power; and dissemination and advocacy. While most of these issues are not necessarily unique to working with children, but underlie many research projects, they are refracted in particular ways in child-oriented research because of the unequal relationships of power between adults and children; the way that adults mediate access to children; the legal complexities of children's position as minors; and the particular nature of the environments—school and the parental home—in which researchers usually encounter young people. (shrink)

Child co-research has become popular in social research involving children. This is attributed to the emphasis on children’s rights and is seen as a way to promote children’s agency and voice. It is a way of putting into practice the philosophy, common amongst childhood researchers, that children are experts on childhood. In this article, we discuss ethical complexities of involving children as co-researchers, beginning with an analysis of the literature, then drawing on data from interviews with researchers who conduct child (...) co-research. We identify six ethical complexities, some of which are new findings which have not been mentioned before in this context. In light of these possible ethical complexities, a key finding is for researchers to be reflexive – to reflect on how the research may affect child co-researchers and participants before the research starts. A separate overriding message that came out in responses from the researchers we interviewed was the need for support and training for child co-... (shrink)

This paper discusses the ways in which a methodological approach evolved through research work with young women living in the Rhondda Valley of South Wales. The project was an investig...

This paper discusses the ways in which a methodological approach evolved through research work with young women (aged 14-17) living in the Rhondda Valley of South Wales. The project was an investigation of their cultural geographies and micro-geographies and was informed by feminist geography's conceptualisation of gender. The qualitative methods were developed in conjunction with the young women. The methodology developed in a format which was in keeping with the politics of Penygraig Community Project and also with what the young (...) women themselves wanted to do - talk as friendship groups. In such a way, the politics and ethics of working with the young people were central because of the ways in which the young women themselves constructed the research that was conducted and ensured that their voices were heard as they discussed what they felt was important to them at that particular time. (shrink)

This paper reflects on the complex methodological and ethical issues encountered in an exploratory research study on young carers in Zimbabwe. Several interviews were distressing for the young peop...

This paper reflects on the complex methodological and ethical issues encountered in an exploratory research study on young carers in Zimbabwe. Several interviews were distressing for the young people interviewed and for the social worker conducting the interviews. The dilemmas raised by interview distress and subsequent withdrawal of co-operation are explored in reflections on the methodology and ethics of researching young people who care.

The differences between parents and adolescents in relation to information and communication technologies (ICT) are well documented, yet little is known about how adolescents experience these differences. The study reported in this paper therefore aimed to elucidate adolescents’ views on these differences, and in the process to explore the possible impact on parent-adolescent relationships. The participants comprised 23 Grade 10 learners, conveniently selected from three high schools in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. The learners participated in focus group discussions and (...) reported on the following: their experiences and perceptions regarding their parents’ level of techno-literacy; their attitude towards, and use of, ICT in comparison with that of their parents; and parental regulations imposed on their use of these technologies. Thematic content analysis was applied to delineate themes emerging from the texts. Although the study confirmed that differences between parents and adolescents exist in relation to ICT, it calls into question other research that too readily portrays this aspect as being negatively experienced by the adolescent, and a threat to healthy parent-adolescent relationships. It was also evident that it is not possible to be conclusive about the impact that ICT may have on parent-adolescent relationships, without information on how parents and adolescents relate above and beyond these technologies. The importance of ICT in adolescents’ lives emphasises the need to unravel the impact it may have on their well-being. (shrink)

This paper describes some of the experiences of working with teenage girls' friendship groups at 'Hilltop', a large urban comprehensive school in the north of England. Working between and within multiple friendship groups in a variety of spaces and places raises ethical and moral responsibilities for the feminist researcher. This paper explores the ethical dilemmas raised when confronted with oppressive behaviour when 'hanging out' with groups of teenage girls, as well as the implications this has for the researcher's feminist 'politics (...) of intervention'. Finally, I call for a (re)politicisation of the geographies of children and youth. (shrink)

This paper describes some of the experiences of working with teenage girls' friendship groups at 'Hilltop', a large urban comprehensive school in the north of England. Working between and within mu...

This paper focuses attention on the ethical issues concerning the involvement of young service users as co-researchers. In particular the article offers an examination of the limitations of the term ?service user?, comments on degrees of participation and explores the ethical issues prior to the start of the research, during the research and after the research has been completed. Particular emphasis is focused on the topics of: the funders of research, ethics committees, valuing contributions, informed consent, confidentiality, authorship and ending (...) the research. The article also suggests that this is a complex area worthy of further exploration and that many of the ethical challenges identified for working with young service users also need to be considered for young service user co-researchers. (shrink)

In the last few years, geographers have begun to develop a research interest in children's and young people's attitudes to and relationship with place and locality. While a range of different types...

The practical and ethical issues associated with obtaining informed consent from children and young people living in residential state care for their participation in a research study are explored in this paper. Research involving the participation of these young people has received comparatively limited attention in the social sciences: this is due to several reasons including the challenging methodological and ethical issues associated with undertaking such research. These can be categorized as the practical issues of gaining direct contact with these (...) young people through gaining the consent of relevant gatekeepers and the process of gaining a favourable opinion from a research ethics committee. Whilst the principles of clarity and consistency of practice are key elements in the process of accessing consent to participate in research, flexibility and imagination are also important skills for the researcher when developing the appropriate protocols for research in an area of social policy which can be methodologically and ethically complex. (shrink)

The knowledge production of researchers interested in improving the health‐care of young clients through the employment of emancipatory research methodologies may be limited by the complexity that working with young children presents to the research process. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether emancipatory research methodologies have application within the context of research with children. Critical examination of the challenges inherent in emancipatory research with children reveals that the application of aspects of these approaches presents possibilities for contributing (...) significantly to our knowledge development for the nursing of children. (shrink)

Many Hong Kong schools are concerned about the growing number of ethnic minority students. How they are supported and how the diversity of their pastoral needs is fulfilled become critical. This article examines teachers?, students? and parents? narratives of the cross?cultural experience of ethnic minority students from India, Pakistan, Philippines, Nepal and Thailand, and the diversity of those students? pastoral needs. The qualitative data were collected from interviews, through which the constructs of 32 teachers and 32 students from three secondary (...) schools were explored. Four groups of focus?group interviews were conducted, in which 15 parents were involved. This article argues that to implement the ethos of caring, it is not only necessary for the school to promote the intercultural sensitivity of all practitioners, but equally important to develop a connected school system where ethnic minority students and parents can be consistently supported in the subsystems of classroom, school and home. (shrink)

This paper is an attempt - and a plea - to get real about the ethics of practising social science 'with children rather than on or for children'. It is written from and in response to a troubling question: why (when I am 'police cleared' and my research is 'ethical' in terms of legality, professional codes of practice and notions of.

This paper is an attempt - and a plea - to get real about the ethics of practising social science 'with children rather than on or for children'. It is written from and in response to a troubling q...

There is a lack of procedure in the UK guiding social researchers faced with ethical questions. In particular, investigators concerned with family violence and its effects on children face some of the most complex ethical dilemmas in social research and there is a need for greater transparency of ethical procedures. This paper summarizes some key ethical principles guiding social research focused on children, and the decisions that researchers face when conducting studies in the area of child maltreatment or domestic violence. (...) A case example of a study conducted in Dublin, Ireland is used to illustrate difficulties surrounding decisions of informed consent, confidentiality and disclosure, distress and danger, and questioning children directly about their experiences of family violence. The advice of the ethics committee and the solutions agreed by the research team are shared. While the study was subject to a review by an independent ethics committee, in the absence of nationally-recognized or agreed guidelines, good ethical practice is largely dependent upon the moral judgments of the research team. It is hoped that by providing one such case example, others might be encouraged to report on their own ethical protocols and procedures. (shrink)

In this paper we provide a reflexive account of fieldwork in out of school clubs in a range of localities across England and Wales. By reflecting upon our personal experiences of researching with c...

In this paper we provide a reflexive account of fieldwork in out of school clubs in a range of localities across England and Wales. By reflecting upon our personal experiences of researching with children aged between 5 and 12 years, we examine the impact of the positionality of the researcher on the research encounter, and highlight the ways in which relationships between adult researchers and child subjects are gendered. Finally, we identify a number of issues for researchers to consider when (...) working with children in the field. (shrink)

Fieldwork is a project in which, according to Rose (1997, p. 316), researcher, researched and research make each other, yet far more attention has been given to the making of the research and researcher than to the researched. Focusing on three aspects of the research process (the researcher's presence in the field, the research topic and the choice of methods), this paper uses examples from the author's own fieldwork to debate whether it is possible to shape fieldwork such that the (...) knowledges created and consumed in the field by the researched serve to destabilise dominant discourses of race, gender and age. (shrink)

Fieldwork is a project in which, according to Rose (1997, p. 316), researcher, researched and research make each other, yet far more attention has been given to the making of the research and researcher than to the researched. Focusing on three aspects of the research process (the researcher's presence in the field, the research topic and the choice of methods), this paper uses examples from the author's own fieldwork to debate whether it is possible to shape fieldwork such that the (...) knowledges created and consumed in the field by the researched serve to destabilise dominant discourses of race, gender and age. (shrink)

Experimental design is one aspect of a scientific method. A well-designed, properly conducted experiment aims to control variables in order to isolate and manipulate causal effects and thereby maximize internal validity, support causal inferences, and guarantee reliable results. Traditionally employed in the natural sciences, experimental design has become an important part of research in the social and behavioral sciences. Experimental methods are also endorsed as the most reliable guides to policy effectiveness. Through a discussion of some of the central concepts (...) associated with experimental design, including controlled variation and randomization, this chapter will provide a summary of key ethical issues that tend to arise in experimental contexts. In addition, by exploring assumptions about the nature of causation and by analyzing features of causal relationships, systems, and inferences in social contexts, this chapter will summarize the ways in which experimental design can undermine the integrity of not only social and behavioral research but policies implemented on the basis of such research. (shrink)