Involving young people as co-researchers: some methodological issues
Date
2002-02-01Abstract
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 to address 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.
Description
One of the most regularly cited articles published by this influential journal (ranked 7th in August 2007), this piece has been used as a resource by a number of researchers with young people across a range of disciplines (education, social studies, media studies), and it is cited internationally as an authoritative source on addressing the methodological challenges of researching ethically and competently with young people.
Based on the lessons from one particular collaborative research project, it makes a major contribution to methodological development in this area of growing research interest and activity. This is not the final version of the article. The full final version can be found by following the DOI link.
Citation : Smith, R.S., Broad, B. and Monaghan, M. (2002) Involving young people as co-researchers: Some methodological issues. Qualitative Social Work, 1(2), pp. 191-207.
ISSN : 1473-3250
Research Group : Social Work
Research Group : Participation & Social Justice
Research Group : Participation & Social Justice