Children, Mobility, and Space

Abstract

This article discusses the potentials of a mixed methods approach to the study of children's mobility patterns. The methodology presented here combined ethnographic fieldwork with global positioning system technology and an interactive questionnaire that children completed via mobile phone. This innovative methodology allowed the researchers to generate a rich understanding of children's everyday movements. The study combined documentation of children's subjective experiences with systematic observations, mapping, and survey data. The article sets out lessons learned for future mixed methods research into children's everyday mobility. One such lesson was that it required the interdisciplinary research team to cooperate closely through dialogue, support, and coordination of activities and perspectives. The approach also promoted the children's commitment to the study.

The Logic of Multi‐Local Living Arrangements: Methodological Challenges And the Potential of Qualitative Approaches

“…In order, for example, to understand spatio‐temporal rhythms and patterns of activity at the places of residence of the multi‐local actors, it would be possible as an alternative to employ the diaries method (Latham ) or GPS technologies (Christensen et al . ). Another idea would be to make use of quantitative methods in relation to the subject.…”

Does free public transit increase physical activity and independent mobility in children? Study protocol for comparing children’s activity between two Finnish towns with and without free public transit

“…The everyday mobility shapes and structures the family life and the children's individual mobility is at the core of the family-relations: it is the arena of intertwining restrictions, fears, attitudes and recommendations. The ethnographic study provides understandings and a thick description [43] of the broader everyday mobility patterns [44], the social and cultural contexts were the free public transit intervenes [45,46].…”

Numbers and narratives: Developing a mixed-methods approach to understand mobility in later life

“…More recently, work in which GPS tracking has been combined with methods such as qualitative GIS, in-depth interviews, walking interviews, travel diaries and participant-led photography, has emerged (Bell et al, 2015;Jones et al, 2011;Lord et al, 2009;Milton et al, 2015;Zeitler et al, 2012;Zeitler and Buys, 2015). These studies demonstrate that multiple research methods can enable a better understanding of the complex and various questions around the everyday geographies of mobility (Christensen et al, 2011).…”