6 Undertaking research with children and young people.
In the recording you just heard, Alison referred to ‘ethicality’; you will be looking in more depth at the ethical aspect of research later in this course. For now, you are going to think about issues that may arise for you, as a researcher, and how your own feelings and experiences may impact on your research. Throughout this Session you have been considering the importance of children’s and young people’s participation in research that affects their lives. Whether you are an adult or a young person conducting the research, you need to bear in mind that children and young people are not a homogeneous group; they bring their diverse views and backgrounds to research, and the same will be true for the adults working alongside them.
Sometimes, some groups of children and young people will have more in common with some adults with whom they share particular experiences than they will with their peers. For example, some children, young people and adults will all have experiences of being diabetic or growing up in poverty. At the same time, experiences of children and young people in these situations will, potentially, differ from those of adults, and for researchers these differences are worth investigating. You might like to look at the Our Voices website here [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] , for more detail on this aspect of sharing experiences; there will be links to this website throughout this course and in particular in Session 4.
Activity _unit1.7.1 Activity 7
In this last recording for this Session, you will hear three adult researchers talking about the personal and emotional impact their research had. Before you start to listen, look at the questions below, and keep those in mind as you listen. Record your answers in the box as you listen to the recording, then click on ‘reveal discussion’ to see a summary of the key points raised.
Transcript: Audio 2
As an adult, can you think of any issues raised in this audio that you have had to face personally in your work with children and young people, or in your daily life?
As a young person, are there any issues raised by these researchers that you have had to face when working with an adult, or in your daily life?
Discussion
It can be difficult not to get emotionally involved in the lives of the people you are researching with.
People may share personal information. It’s important to have a ‘safe space’ for people to talk.
Some issues raised during a research project may be contentious or cause conflict.
Adults may find their personal experiences impact on the way they research the experiences of children and young people.