Children as Research Advisors: Contributions to a ‘Methodology of Participation’ in Researching Children in Difficult Circumstances

Abstract

This article contributes to emerging discussions of child participation in general, and in research with migrant and displaced children specifically, by examining the involvement of children as research advisors in two projects: a study of foster care for separated children in Rwanda, and an analysis of the conditions of children outside parental care living in institutions and communities in Bangladesh.The comparison highlights the importance of conceiving participation as a research strategy, and advocates a 'methodology of participation' that considers varieties of participation and varieties of social change. Teaching research methods to children acting as advisors enabled them to understand what research is and to learn about the lives of other children, while contributing to decision-making processes in selecting questions, participants, interpreting findings and making recommendations. Children's input into research contributes to overcoming essentialist conceptualisations of children in difficult circumstances, and moving to viewing these children as social actors embedded in complex relational processes. At the same time, involving children in an advisory capacity treates them as active participants in the research process, as they are in social life.

Evolving Patient-Researcher Collaboration: An Illustrative Case Study of a Patient-Led Knowledge Translation Event

“…Researchers have also concluded that the 'right' people must be involved, in the same way as the selection of participants is crucial (Dona 2006). This is essential when targeting a specific community.…”

“…This bias had an impact on all aspects of the research process -the selection of participants and the questions that were asked. It made the researchers realise that there needs to be a close match between project advisors and the participants, to ensure that their advice is useful and relevant (Dona 2006).…”

“…Many people have also reported learning new skills through involvement, in a similar way to receiving 'on the job training' (Bryant & Beckett 2006;Clark et al 2004;Coupland et al 2005;Dona 2006;Faulkner 2006;Krieger et al 2002;Ramon 2000). For some people, these have been skills directly related to research, for example, questionnaire design, interviewing skills and data analysis (Beer et al 2005;Faulkner 2004;Leamy & Clough 2006;Minkler et al 2002; Rowe 2006).…”

“…The public very frequently report benefiting personally from involvement, most often through a general increase in their self-confidence (Beer et al 2005;Cotterell et al 2008;Coupland et al 2005;Dickson & Green 2001;Dobbs & Moore 2002;Dona 2006;Faulkner 2006;Hewlett et al 2006;Johns et al 2004;Kellett 2006;McLaughlin 2006;Ramon 2000;Rowe 2006;Weinstein 2006;Wood 2003). More specifically, some people have reported feeling more confident about speaking up in groups (Rhodes et al 2002) and in giving presentations (Minogue et al 2005).…”

“…• offered a different perspective on research (Ross et al 2005) • contributed to the creative elements of the research (Ramon 2000) • made a difference to a project (Cotterell et al 2008; Dona 2006;Hewlett et al 2006;Minogue et al 2005) • investigated what they regarded as an important topic (Minogue et al 2005;Schneider et al 2004) • helped to produce what they hoped would be a significant and influential research report (Butcher 2005) • been rewarded for their efforts (Hewlett et al 2006) and recognised for their contribution (McLaughlin 2006) • helped other people by making a positive contribution to their community (Leamy & Clough 2006;Minogue et al 2005) • conquered the challenge of undertaking tasks that were mentally/intellectually challenging (Beer et al 2005;Cotterell et al 2008).…”