Researching with Families: Ethical Issues and Situations

Abstract

This article draws on an Australian project engaging with families with complex support needs as their children start school. The project itself is focused on developing collaborative research relationships between families, community support agencies and researchers with the aim of investigating what happens for families during the transition to school. In particular, the project has focused on developing strategies that promote recognition of family strengths, as well as challenges, and that support a positive start to school education. This article reports a range of ethical issues and situations encountered throughout the project. The aim of reporting these is to share some of the critical reflections about the assumptions underpinning the research, ethical engagement with research participants, and the responsibilities researchers have. In particular, the authors share reflections about the nature and implications of conducting research with families, accessing research participants and strategies for engaging with research participants. The approach taken in the project, and this article, reflects assumptions about research as an ethical process and the need for researchers to consider the ethical issues and situations they meet within research contexts.

Children as capable evaluators: evolving conceptualizations of childhood in NGO practice settings

“…Families were purposefully only called once to limit feelings of pressure or pestering (Dockett et al . ).…”

“…(), Dockett & Perry () and Dockett et al . () have made useful and insightful contributions from an academic perspective that provided practical and thought‐provoking ideas that influenced Windermere's ethical considerations and methods.…”

“…The extent of child involvement in NGO practice settings is particularly undiscussed as the vast majority of peer‐reviewed papers discussing practical engagements with children are drawn from research settings (Dockett et al . ; Dockett & Perry ; Mason & Danby ; Mason & Hood ; Dockett et al . ; Mortari & Harcourt ; Bessell ; Dockett et al .…”

“…While theory advocates the rights and capabilities of children, the extent to which these concepts are played out in practice is less certain. The extent of child involvement in NGO practice settings is particularly undiscussed as the vast majority of peer-reviewed papers discussing practical engagements with children are drawn from research settings (Dockett et al 2009;Dockett & Perry 2011;Mason & Danby 2011;Mason & Hood 2011;Dockett et al 2012;Mortari & Harcourt 2012;Bessell 2013;Dockett et al 2013;McNamara 2013). While many of these researchers have practice-based backgrounds, there can be significant differences in resourcing, contextual understanding, existing rapport and research knowledge that separate the experience of conducting child consultations considerably.…”

‘Be our guest’: challenges and benefits of using ‘family conversations’ to collect qualitative data about infant feeding and parenting

“…, Jordan , Dockett et al . , Irwin , Devaney & Smith ). However, interviewing the family as a whole has rarely been used as a part of breastfeeding research.…”