Ethical Principles in Research with
Children: Developing Guidelines
Through Critical Collegial
Engagement
Margaret McKenzie-Davidson
Dept. of Social Work and Community Development
Jude MacArthur
Independent Researcher on Disability and Education
Children and Young People as Social Actors Research Cluster
University of Otago
Dunedin
New Zealand
http://www.otago.ac.nz/humanities/research/clusters/children/
University of Otago
Dunedin, New Zealand
Children and Young People as Social
Actors Research Cluster
Range of disciplines represented:
24 members - law, education and teacher education, early childhood,
social work, disability issues, sociology, geography, physical education,
psychology, medicine, ethics, anthropology.
Range of experience in research methodology and methods:
Qualitative and quantitative
Ethnography, case study, observation, interview, participatory action
research, children as researchers etc.
Shared interest in:

Research that includes children

New sociology of childhood - children as social actors
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Children’s rights – UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Children and Young People as Social Actors
Research Cluster – examples of research
projects
Children's perspectives on rights, responsibilities and citizenship
Children’s perspectives on physical punishment
Children’s participation in family law proceedings
Disabled children and young people’s school experiences and identity
Young people’s experiences of rural and urban environments
Youth researching youth – young people and identity
Kapo Maori, the school experiences of blind Maori
How children use their environment
Health rights in secondary schools
The genesis of the Ethics Guidelines
project – Cluster Seminars
Researching Children’s Experiences: Methodological and Ethical Issues,
October 2008
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There is a need for research that is focused on the recognition of children as the basis
for improving policy and practice (Frankel, 2007; Graham, 2008)
Ethics committees can regulate and block children’s involvement in research – not
always sensitive to children’s participation rights (Graham, 2008; Powell & Smith,
2009)
Assumptions about childhood emphasise children’s vulnerability and competency,
rather than their willingness and capacity to be involved in research (McGuire, 2005;
Powell & Smith, 2006; 2009).
The construction of children’s rights in education - a research synthesis,
Anne Quennerstedt, Orebro University, Sweden, April 2009
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Low level of theorising in research on children’s rights in education
Few studies ask children for their views (despite the emphasis on children’s rights and
UNCRC)
Uncertainty in the research about the prioritising of children’s and parents’ rights
The genesis of the Ethics Guidelines project Discussion of shared issues and concerns within
the cluster

The place of children’s voice and children’s rights in our own research projects

Ongoing ethical issues that have arisen in our own research (ethics as a
‘process’)

Some student research proposals are ethically ‘underworked’

Ethics committees can impede/restrict research with children because of their
concerns in relation to:


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researchers having access to children
proposed methods and methodology
preventing harm
Gate-keeping can prevent children’s participation
Ethics Guidelines Project – the aim
The development of a set of ethics
guidelines relating to research which
includes children and young people.
For use by students, supervisors,
researchers and ethics committees.
Ethics Guidelines Project – the process

Specific focus for each lunchtime meeting (2 hours)

Collegial discussion – open sharing of experiences and ideas from our own
research:
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‘tricky’ issues and possible resolutions
unanticipated issues that arise ‘in the field’
Ideas from related reading material shared

Discussion is recorded

Minutes circulated to whole cluster for comment

Draft guidelines drawn up and circulated widely for feedback (cluster members
and beyond)

Publication and dissemination
Ethics Guidelines Project – the content

Children in research – a position statement

Providing information and seeking consent within a supportive
relationship

The research context/setting issues

Method and methodological issues

Feedback and dissemination

Bibliographies, websites, resources
Position statement on research with
children
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Why children’s participation is important, and the danger of not
including children in research
The unique attributes of research with children
Primary accountability to the child
Respect and consideration for children (e.g Alderson, 1995;
2008)
Children as social actors
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willing and able to make decisions about participating in research
participating subjects and ‘knowers’, not objects of the researcher’s
gaze (Smith, 2009)
Multiple ways in which children can participate in research
Ethics as a process
Age and competence
Position statement on research with
children – ethics as a process

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Unanticipated ethical issues arise ‘in the field’, therefore ethics is
a process, not a ‘one-off’ matter (Alderson, 1995, Powell &
Smith, 2009)
Implications for adult reflexivity and for supervision that allows
for ongoing discussion and review of:
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the ethical issues as they arise
decisions that need to be made
the effectiveness of those decisions
the opportunities for children to opt out
“Ethical radar” – particularly with young children, disabled children
(Skanvors, 2009)
Informed consent – presumption of
competence
Starting point = presumption of competence to consent:

Age or ‘ability’ are not good indicators of competence – experience
is more important

Children and young people need to be seen as having experience,
but as being inexperienced in the research context
Including ALL children in research means the responsibility is on the
researcher to find ways to fully inform children:

Information and consent processes need to be relevant to age,
ability and experience of participants

Recognise that children can communicate and participate in a
variety of ways
Consent – active and genuinely informed
over time

It is important that active informed consent is gained
from children themselves (Smith, 2009).
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Children need to know they are in a research project –
understand what is happening and why, and how research
can be used to change/improve things for children
We should not assume children ‘assent’ if their parents
agree for them to be part of a study.
Informed consent is an active process over time –
provide rights to opt out and in again if desired
Informed consent- privacy and
confidentiality
Researcher’s primary responsibility is to
the child
Question of what to do when a child
discloses an issue of concern but will
not give permission for that issue to be
discussed with adults (e.g. bullying at
school)
Informed consent – some other issues

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Adults consenting on child’s behalf (Don’t worry about asking her, I say it’s
fine”).
Verbal vs. body language (Amy is saying “Yes”, but her body language says
“No”). Important that researchers are sensitive to the child and to what they are
really saying.

Any issue can be ‘sensitive’ for a child at any stage – even when informing
children about the research.

Important to be aware of legal issues around consent and context – e.g. in
relation to children in care, in hospital.

Potential for data to be used in other ways that are not covered by consent.
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Consent as time and context specific – when and where does consent end?
Cluster members’ comments on the ethics
meetings so far…
“I just have to say, I am really enjoying
this”
“It’s really good hearing about other
people’s experiences”
“It’s a really great way to pick up on key
issues that others have faced”
References
Alderson, P. (1995). Listening to children: Children, ethics and social research. London: Barnardos.
Alderson P (2008) 'Ten topics for consideration in carrying out social research with children and young people',
Children's Geographies 6, 98-101.
Frankel, S. (2007) Researching Children’s Morality: developing research methods that allow children’s involvement
in discourses relevant to their everyday lives. Childhoods Today, 1, (1), 1-25. (Online journal)
Graham, A. (2008). Presentation to the ‘Children and Young People as Social Actors’ Research Cluster symposium
on Researching Children’s Experiences: Methodological and Ethical Issues, University of Otago, 31 October
2008.
McGuire, M. (2005). What if you talked to me? I could be interesting! Ethical research considerations in engaging
with bilingual/multilingual child participants in human inquiry. Forum: Qualittive social research, 6 (1), Art. 4.
http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs/
Powell, M., & Smith, A. (2006). Ethical guidelines for research with children: a review of current reseaech ethics
documentation in New Zealand. Kotuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online, 1, 125-138.
Powell, M., & Smith, A. (2009). Children’s participation rights in research, Childhood, 16, 124-142.
Skanvors, I. (2009). Ethics in child research: Children’s agency and researchers’ ‘ethical radar’. Childhoods Today,
3, (1), 1-22. (Online journal)
Smith, A. (2009). Respecting children’s rights and agency in seeking their perspectives. University of Otago,
College of Education.
Examples
Interviews
-
Using cartoons
Hi there,
Obelix and I would like to ask
you some questions about you,
your family and your school.
My name is Obelix …
What is your name?
Luke
You can write what
you think in this
box.
Really good. I don’t
know. I don’t really
care as I’m not going
there any more. Bad. I
don’t have to tell you
why. Boring.
What do you think
about school?
I like
reading the
best. What
do you like
best?
What do you
hate most?
Stars on Stage concert.
Art, reading and story
writing. I actually make
good stories. I do.
When told what to do
every minute.
Handwriting,
spelling and maths.
Being bullied.
Interviews
‘Fill in the gap’
Interviews
- Drawing pictures