Chapter 20: Research Methods and Ethics Working with Young Children

Over the last 20 years there has been a significant shift in the way researchers perceive children in terms of their ability to participate in research and as active research partners (Lambert & Glacken, 2011; MacDonald & Greggans, 2008). It is now more commonly accepted in contemporary research literature to acknowledge that children have a right to participate in research that affects them. Further, their ability to successfully engage as active participants in the research process is now recognised to be about appropriate research design (Balen, 2006; Birbeck & Drummond, 2007; B. Carter, 2009). This has not always been the case as developmental models of childhood, where the child is seen as in a state of ‘becoming an adult’, have historically positioned children as not competent or able to contribute authentically as research participants (Alderson, 2000; B. Carter, 2009; Lambert & Glacken, 2011; Woodhead & Faulkner, 2000). Further, when children have been accepted as competent their participation in research has been fraught due to discourses that frame children as vulnerable and open to exploitation by researchers (B. Carter, 2009; Dockett, Einarsdottir, & Perry, 2009; Dockett & Perry, 2007). The dual concerns of capability and vulnerability have led to overly cautious approaches being taken by ethics committees and researchers, which has had implications upon the research process and potential outcomes for the research (B. Carter, 2009; Kirk, 2007; Lambert & Glacken, 2011).