Guardians of research: negotiating the strata of gatekeepers in research with vulnerable participants

Abstract

Gatekeepers are an integral part of an ethical process of seeking authorisation for research. The number of gatekeepers, and the negotiations between researchers and gatekeepers, become more complex for research which includes children and young people (CYP) and other vulnerable groups. Ethical researchers and gatekeepers share a desire to protect CYP from harm. This paper examines the multifaceted nature of gatekeepers and the positive and negative influences upon their decision-making. The traditional view of the gatekeeper, as benevolent protector, has been challenged within literature. Indeed, gatekeepers are sometimes presented as being predisposed to take an antagonistic stance towards research proposals, owing to a heightened anxiety regarding risks of harm for CYP. This is problematic for researchers endeavouring to plan proactively for seeking permissions from gatekeepers. This paper offers a novel contribution to these debates with a model of the strata of gatekeepers, designed to support researchers with those proactive preparations. This paper focuses on the educational context, but nevertheless contributes to the debates across wider fields of study, working to mitigate vulnerable participants becoming marginalised on topics which are salient to them.

Pivoting the seesaw? Negotiating the tensions of balancing ethical and methodological considerations in designing research that involves children and young people

“…These questions support the researcher to consider who they wish to involve in the research and the rationale for their involvement. The researcher is also encouraged to consider who will need to be asked for informed consent; for example, which strata of gatekeepers will need to be consulted for their permission (Kay 2019). The consultation with gatekeepers will be examined more deeply later in this paper.…”

“…Thus, the strata of gatekeepers comprise adults who are both external to, and internal within, the research context (Bryman 2016). These strata are identified within the participant factors boxes of the proposed framework and will include University Ethics Committees, Headteachers, Parents and CYP (as 'auto gatekeepers' [Kay 2019]). Gatekeepers hold a mutual responsibility for safeguarding CYP within the other functions they fulfil.…”

“…The decisions made by gatekeepers are influenced by levels of anxiety regarding CYP's involvement in research, differing views about enabling CYP to express their viewpoints about their life experiences and their perspectives of CYP's competences to articulate these views accurately (Sargeant and Harcourt 2012). Further factors influencing institutional or organisational gatekeepers' (Kay 2019) decisions include concerns about the impact upon their organisation's reputation from the way in which it may be presented in the research report (Walsh 2005); there may be an assumption that the best interest of the child aligns with what gatekeeper feels is in the best interest of the organisation. All these factors increase the complications of negotiations, as the agency of gatekeepers may act in either concordance with, or in opposition to, the principles within the UNCRC (1989) (Kay 2019).…”

“…Further factors influencing institutional or organisational gatekeepers' (Kay 2019) decisions include concerns about the impact upon their organisation's reputation from the way in which it may be presented in the research report (Walsh 2005); there may be an assumption that the best interest of the child aligns with what gatekeeper feels is in the best interest of the organisation. All these factors increase the complications of negotiations, as the agency of gatekeepers may act in either concordance with, or in opposition to, the principles within the UNCRC (1989) (Kay 2019). Consequently, this has the potential to make the role of the researcher seeking to pursue issues of social justice, as embedded in the UNCRC, even more complex.…”

A study of how local communities responded to changes in local authority youth services between 2010-2015 : A Foucauldian and Baumanian perspective.

“…Those who grant permission are called gatekeepers, especially in studies involving children and young people (Webster, Lewis and Brown, 2014;Walford, 2001). Kay (2019) proposed a strata of gatekeepers involved throughout the research process, starting with the University ethics committee, as described above. Next, Kay (2019, p.43) suggested that the most appropriate person to seek permission from is the 'organisational gatekeeper'.…”