What are the ethical issues involving children or young person when conducting a research with them?
- Consent from children ''Gaining consent for a child or young person to participate in research is often a more complex procedure when compared to gaining consent from other populations. Many researchers working with children and young people recognise the need to view them as autonomous individuals, capable of making their own decisions. However, in practice this is constrained by legislation which states that those under 18 are not legally competent to provide consent and that their decisions are often shaped and influenced by parents and other adult gatekeepers, such as teachers and social workers. In addition, an integral part of gaining consent is ensuring that participants are fully informed of, and understand the nature, purpose and outcomes of the research. Therefore, in practice, researchers are often required to gain consent from appropriate adults and also gain assent from the child or young person. The researcher could make sure the children are fully informed by using picture consent such as photograph and visual /film consent form.''(Anon)
- Consent from Adult ''Researchers must first obtain consent from the relevant gatekeepers relevant to the study and involved in the child’s life. If conducting research in a school or sports or community club setting, the researcher will need to obtain the consent of the person in charge of that setting, such as the head-teacher, sports coach or club leader. As with the issue of consent more generally, the researcher should outline the purpose of the project, what the involvement of the child and/or young person will be and the outcomes of the project. In practice, it is common to first seek consent from the organisation where participants will be recruited (such as the school) before gaining consent from the parents/guardians.''(Anon)
- Protection from harm: Risk, benefits and safeguarding children and young people ''The best interests and rights of the child should be the primary consideration when conducting research with children and/or young people. As with all research, researchers have a duty to protect their participants from harm. When working with children and young people, researchers have a duty to ensure the method is appropriate and will not cause participants any physical or psychological harm. For example, issues relating to potentially sensitive family situations, racial, religious and similar social or political sensitive matters should be established in such a way that children will not be worried, confused, misled by the research and patronized.''(Eric.,2013)
- Privacy and Confidentially ''Respecting the privacy and confidentiality of children participating in research involves close consideration of several aspects: privacy with regard to how much information the child wants to reveal or share, and with whom; privacy in the processes of information gathering/data collection and storage that allows the exchange of information to be confidential to those involved; and privacy of the research participants so that they are not identifiable in the publication and dissemination of findings. Personal data are usually protected by data protection laws, but there could be situations where a parent, who has provided consent, requires information about the research results, while the child participating in the research has been assured that his/her answers will not be revealed. In such situations the researcher has to achieve “a balance between the parent’s right to know and the child’s right to privacy”. Apart from the parents issue, the researcher must adhere to the ethics around sharing the results with other researchers and other studies. The topic of confidentiality is very problematic, not only in achieving the previously mentioned balance, but also in protecting children participants. One striking example is in research with abused children where the relationship between parent-child is awkward and even if abusing parents are presented with the results of the research, this may not make them reconsider their behavior, but could make them more angry with their children, something that could also affect the results of the research, since abused children may feel less free to give honest answers. So confidentiality is very important since disclosure of information can put the children and their rights at risk.''(Anon)
Sources :
Anon, Ethical Issues in Research Revolving Children (Available at : http://www.enmcr.net/site/assets/file/1382 /ethical_isuues_in_research_involving_children.pdf Last accessed : 13/11/2015
Anon, Ethical Considerations in Reearch With Children and Young People. Available at : https://www.shef.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.165641!/file/SREGP-Children-Young-People.pdf Last accessed : 13/11/2015
Eric (2013), Ethical Research Involving Children : Ethical Guidance. Available at : http://childethics.com/ethical-guidance/ Last accessed : 13/11/2015
Anon, Guidance Note 1 : Research Involving Children. Available at : https://ethics.grad.ucl.ac.uk/forms/guidance1.pdf
Last accessed : 13/11/2015
Noret N. Guidelines on Research Ethics for Projects with Children and Young People. Available at : http://www.yorksj.ac.uk/pdf/Guidelines%20in%20Research%20Ethics%20for%20Projects%20involving%20Children
%20and%20Young%20People.pdf Last accessed : 13/11/2015