Children Participating in Research

This is a four-page brief looking at child participation in research. This document was published as part of Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA’s) programme “Research with Children” which commenced in 2004 funded by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The document looks at today’s society and how it has moved towards canvassing the views of all stakeholders and yet ignores the views of children and young people.

The programme aims to:

• obtain information about children’s needs and rights and the extent to which their needs are met and rights realised;
• explore factors that affect children’s rights; and
• understand the coping strategies adopted by children and caregivers to overcome or mitigate the negative impacts of problems affecting the realisation of children’s rights.
   

According to the brief, research with children is important to reach out to a section of society disadvantaged by age in terms of their representation in societal issues. The traditional method of conducting research with children is to use adult researchers who adapt their mode of communication to suit the children as much as possible. The innovative way is to train young people to conduct the research, involving children in the research process as collaborators, not merely using them in data collection by assigning those roles as passive subjects of research.

Ideally, children can be involved in any or all stages of the research process, from the defining and refining of the key research question to the dissemination of results. However, several key considerations need to be well thought through when planning for research with children. These are: ethics, research protocol, methodology, selection of data collection techniques, analysing the data, reporting, and dissemination of research results.

According to the brief, several challenges may need to be overcome in order to ensure a successful research project. These may include:

• Social Acceptability - Sometimes communities do not take children seriously, and may not be willing to cooperate with young researchers. It is thus necessary to seek permission, or to explain the objective of conducting research to community authorities, parents or guardians.
• Inadequate Skills - In undertaking research a number of skills are required, for example developing research questions, proposal writing, data collection techniques, data analysis, and report writing. The children may not have these skills and may need training and facilitation.
• Management of the Process - Sometimes the motivation of child researchers can result in them consuming a lot of time collecting data, or alternatively they can be distracted or discouraged in the course of the research. To minimise this, both intervention by adult researchers and continuous consultations may be necessary.
• When Research Becomes Exploitation - This is an ethical challenge but it captures the whole philosophy underpinning children’s rights and participation in research, which can result in research that is not necessarily of benefit to them. Research becomes exploitation when:
1. child researchers are used as workers or tools for information collection, and are rewarded in a manner not commensurate to the efforts they have put in;
2. the research is not for the children’s benefit, and interferes with their normal pattern of life – such as schooling, or play; and
3. research uses them as guinea pigs for undisclosed objectives beyond their and their immediate ‘gatekeepers’ comprehension.

The brief concludes that there is much to offer both the researcher and the children in participating in research. Research with children acknowledges their role and rights in their own development, while also bringing their issues to the attention of society.