Research with children
Learning objectives:
What is different about working with children?
Ethical considerations
Methods – self report, interviews, projective techniques
Observation
Time and event sampling
Ethnography
Reflexivity
Why is research with children different to adults?
Comprehension and verbal ability, understanding of abstract ideas; obvious
distinction between childhood and adolescence (Matthews 1992).
Variability between children at the same age, adults need to adapt language to
match the understanding of the child. Checks and repetitiions required –
implications for explanations about research and obtaining consent.
Perceived incompetence – lack of physical strength, limited range of coping
responses
Used to being disregarded by key adults (Cloke,1995) , especially trye for those
who have been abuse or whose with disabilities.
Appropriate methodology for age and research question
- Demand characteristics
Is red heaview than yellow?
2 flies were crawling up a wall, which fly got to the top first? (Hughes and
Grieve, 1980)
- Open or closed questions? (waterman, blades and spencer, 2001) 76% children
gave inappropriate yes/no answers to nonsense questions, compared to 20%
adults.
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Are children more suggestible than adults?
Children’s reliability as witnesses – children more likely to accept incorrect
information if supplied by an adult (ceci, ross and toglia, 1987)
Understanding of metaphors
- Interviewer: how close are you to your grandfather?
- Child: well, not very close really: I live in Dublin and he lives in Offaly (Greene
and Hogan, 2005)
Are they telling the truth? (Lewis, stranger and Sullivan, 1989)
Power differences
Perceived incompetence and weakness – children viewed as vulnerable to
persuasion and adverse influence.
Power and status: children’s subordinate position (Mayall,2000). Contradictory:
sensitive to what they perceive is unacceptable, and at the same time resistant and
unhelpful.
Harris (1998) Kids Vs Adults
Cosaro (1997) strategies to “mock and evade adult authority’’
