Involving Young People as Co-Researchers

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to introduce and consider some of the issues which may arise in research projects seeking to engage young people as co-researchers. The article will focus on the methodological challenges faced by one research team in particular, in the design and implementation of a lottery funded project in England which is intended both to improve understanding of young people's health needs, and to develop better strategies for meeting these. In developing the project design, the research team judged that a collaborative approach would be appropriate given the subject matter and the intended outcomes of the research. In order to achieve this, considerable thought was given to the implications of recruiting a team of young people to act as 'co-researchers.' As a result, a number of significant methodological issues were identified, grouped around several key themes:-practicalities;ethics; validity; and value. The article develops these questions further, identifying a number of challenges in each area, and exploring the possible consequences for research projects which involve young people as co-researchers. Based on these observations, the article goes on to discuss some of the strategies adopted by the research team carrying out the study in question, in order toaddress the methodological and ethical concerns identified. The article concludes that there are very real benefits to be gained by adopting participatory research methods, which clearly offset the additional demands involved in pursuing this kind of approach.Key words: Participatory research, young people, methodological issues, insider perspective C:\Documents and Settings\acope\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\BH1RCOLE\Children and Young People as Co-researchers.docThe context: young people's health needs and participatory researchThe issue of young people and social exclusion has recently become a subject of significant interest in England and the rest of the United Kingdom. As a consequence, there have been increasing demands for a better understanding of young people's needs, particularly those of young people who have been marginalized for one reason or another. In order to respond to this interest, De Montfort University and The Children's Society developed a joint proposal to research the health needs of socially excluded young people in 1998. This proposal was informed by a strong belief that young people's own views should be incorporated as far as possible, and that the subjective aspects of their needs should be properly identified (Broad, 1999). This, it was felt, would offer certain benefits in adding to the richness, validity and relevance of the research project itself (see, for example, Wilkins, 2000). It has also been argued that participatory research is beneficial both because of its implicit values (such as empowerment and inclusion), and also because it improves our level of understanding of the substantive subject area (see, for example, Lewis and Lindsay, 2000).The detailed rese...

The role of family communication and parents' feeding practices in children's food preferences

“…In addition, the photographs helped children remember and articulate descriptions of the photographs, and the photographs helped them concentrate during the interviews. Through this method, children controlled the data and were respected as co-researchers, an approach known for increasing a study's reliability (Smith, Monaghan, & Broad, 2002).…”

Children’s Involvement in Research—A Review and Comparison with Service User Involvement in Health and Social Care

“…Informing researchers about young people's views, methods of data collection, recruitment strategies, etc. Smith et al (2002) Research article The involvement of young people as co-researchers. The literature on service user involvement was not systematically selected or reviewed to the same extent as the literature on children's involvement in research, for two main reasons: First, it was perceived to be out of scope to include findings from two reviews in the same article and as several reviews (including systematic reviews) have already been conducted in the field of service user involvement (e.g., Boote et al 2015;Brett et al 2014) it was decided to draw on these rather than conduct a new and separate review.…”

“…Involving children in the different stages of research was described as a means to obtain a greater understanding of their perspectives and identify and prioritize more appropriate topics and questions (Bailey et al 2015; Bradbury-Jones and Taylor 2015; Clavering and McLaughlin 2010; Franks 2011; Gray and Winter 2011). Furthermore, involvement was seen as a way to generate more insightful research, grounded in children's perspectives and experiences (Alderson 2001), ultimately improving the quality and relevance of the research (Clark 2004;Oliver et al 2015;Smith et al 2002). A specific example was provided by Messiou (2014) who showed how secondary school children helped identify issues around safety, bullying and seating arrangements at their schools, and Cox and Robinson-Pant (2008) who described how primary school children's involvement in a school-based research project taught teachers about their viewpoints and helped them transform their practice by challenging previously held assumptions.…”

Who benefits? A critical reflection of children and young people’s participation in sensitive research

“…Nevertheless, there has been a paradigmatic shift whereby social scientists no longer need to justify why CYP should be consulted but instead focus on how best to achieve this (Alderson, 2001;Brownlie et al, 2006;Kirby, 2004;McLaughlin, 2005;Petrie, Fiorelli, & O'Donnell, 2006). It is also recognised that the outcomes of these consultations should be acted upon (see McLaughlin, 2006;Smith, Monaghan, & Broad, 2002). Christensen and Prout (2002) developed a four-level typology of participation with young people starting at a rudimentary level of involvement where young people are regarded as objects of investigation; young people are then considered as subjects of social research; the third stage is where young people are constructed as autonomous actors; and the fourth positions young people playing an active role.…”

“…This model of participation is advocated by researchers who suggest similar levels of involvement with peer-or user-led research or where CYP are co-researchers (Alderson, 2001;Brownlie et al, 2006;Kellett, 2005Kellett, , 2009Kirby, 2004;McLaughlin, 2005McLaughlin, , 2006Smith et al, 2002). Arguably, the social science implementation of this has been influenced by, and evolved from, practitioner models in which interventions for young people are led by young people as illustrated in peer-led anti-bullying campaigns (e.g.…”