Research Methods, Ethical Issues in

All research involves a wide range of ethical issues, which have to be taken into account at every stage of the research process. These concern not only specific issues related to young participants, such as ensuring their privacy, but also issues related to the methods used to gain access to the data or field, the quality of the collected material (e.g., how questions are worded), and the later analysis. Five main issues are often examined in the literature on ethics and research: the aspects of power, informed consent and choice, confidentiality, independence, and the reporting and disseminating of findings. All these issues are also crucial when conducting research online, for example, via email interviews or observations; this type of research also raises additional ethical challenges.

In research, the issue of power is always present, and this becomes even more evident when conducting research with children. The adult researcher may be perceived as an authority figure whose viewpoints dominate the research situation. Informed consent means that all participants, whatever their age, must be informed about and understand the purpose of the study, what their role is, and how the collected data will be used and presented. In addition, participants should always have the choice of withdrawing from a study anytime during the research process. However, it is not enough just to inform children that their participation is voluntary. Every researcher must reflect on whether the child actually has the opportunity to say no to a teacher or an adult researcher and is not feeling parental or peer pressure. For example, is a lack of motivation to participate an indication of unwillingness to take part in a study? The third issue, confidentiality, involves concealing the young informant's identity. Children's rights to privacy and confidentiality must be taken into account when, for example, presenting the results and deciding where the data are to be stored. The fourth question requires that researchers address the ethics of funding and consider the independence of a study from commercial business and other nonacademic interests. In this connection, the question of when and if the young participants should get some sort of reward for taking part in a study must be answered. Payments can be used as a tool for persuasion and thereby pressure the child to participate. As for reporting and disseminating the findings, several ethical issues are encountered including the possibility of giving personal feedback to the participants and whether they will be able to comment on the findings. Additional aspects to be examined are in what forums the findings are published and whether conclusions are based on the collected data or merely supporting the researcher's views.