Ethical principles in research with children and vulnerable participants dictate that they must be protected (Punch, 2002) and should be handled with sensitivity. Research with children does not offer easy paths to achieving the above and research participants like street children have painful memories or experiences and need a high level of sensitivity on the part of the researcher. While the methods that were employed in this study may appear less intrusive as they rely on people telling their stories at their own pace, there is a
potential that respondents could be distressed. While the study takes a perspective that sees children as competent commentators and experts on their own lives (Prout, 2002; Dunn,
80 2004), that does not mean that research with children should be conducted in the same way as research with adults. Potential differences that arise from children’s marginalised
positions and the way in which childhood is constructed and marginal identities of street children need to be recognised.
Punch (2002:2) poses a question: ‘If children are competent social actors, why are specific ‘child-friendly’ methods needed to communicate with them?’ The answer to the above question is that children have a shorter attention span; use and understand language differently and have less life experience compared to adults (Punch, 2002). This
recognition implies that research should be based on their level of understanding and how they view their own world.
Four research perspectives on childhood have a fundamental part to play in research with children. The first is the ‘child as an ‘object’ perspective which is dominant in the medical and psychological research (Edwards and Alldred, 1999).This perspective regards children as having no or lacking human agency and being acted upon by adults. The second
perspective sees children as ‘subjects’. This implies children’s subjectivity and a tendency to make assumptions about their competencies in relation to adults and their families (Woodhead and Faulkner, 2000).
The ‘child as a social actor’ is the third perspective and places emphasis on the
independent autonomy of children in respect of their own unique experiences and their understanding of these experiences (Christensen and Prout, 2002). This model seeks to strike a balance between recognising and developing the competency and autonomy of children while at the same time developing practices appropriate to children’s experiences, interests and routines. The fourth perspective sees children as ‘co-researchers’ (Alderson, 2000).These perspectives underpin the choice of research methods and processes that are followed in conducting research with children. This research adopted the ‘child as a social
81 actor’ perspective which is deemed appropriate in exploring the life experiences of street children.
Christensen and Prout (2002) call for ‘ethical symmetry’ in research with children, i.e., a view that the ethical relationship between the researcher and the informant is the same whether he or she conducts research with adults or children as the same ethical principles apply. Christensen and Prout (2002) argue that each individual right and ethical
consideration in relation to adults has its equivalent for research with children. There is a strong argument against age or developmentally based assumptions about children’s competencies as ethical symmetry starts from the position of equality. This is important in issues like voluntary informed consent, confidentiality and the right to withhold
participation. It is important to recognise any participant’s right to say ‘no’ whatever their age.
Christensen and Prout‘s (2002) ‘ethical symmetry’ concept and assumptions are based on cognitive and developmental differences between children and adults. They attempt to strike a balance between acknowledging and recognizing the children’s agency
(competency and autonomy of children) on one hand and on the other employing research practices that are suitable for children’s active participation in their own right.
The fundamental emphasis is that research should be in line with the children’s
experiences, interests, values and everyday routines. This research perspective‘s (children as social actors) particular characteristic is that children are given central and conceptual status and no longer seen solely as part of the family, school, social institutions and relationships which portray them as very dependent on them. They must be seen as social actors whose interaction with other structures changes them, the social and the cultural world they live in. Nonetheless, it should be noted that viewing children as social actors and competent agents with their own expression has created ethical dilemmas and
82 responsibilities for researchers. There is also a greater potential for conflict of interest between children and other actors.
It was therefore important to adopt ethical guidelines which are in line with the above perspective of children and research participants in general. In this study I followed a number of published ethical guidelines in line with the fundamental principle of recognizing children as social agents and active participants in the research process (a child-centred approach). Among these are the widely cited Declaration of Helsinki adopted by the World Medical Assembly in 1964, later amended in 1989 and 1996, the British Sociological Association (BSA); the British Educational Research Association (BERA), the Open University Code of Practice for Research and those conducting Research and the Open University governance documents on Ethics and Principles for Research involving Human Participants. These protocols set out principles and guidelines for research, responsibilities to participants, and responsibilities to sponsors of research and how data from the research should be handled and used. Providing information about the research, informed consent, confidentiality and use of research data gathered are some of the fundamentals of protecting participants (more of this later).
The protocols stipulate the need for adequate and accurate information to be provided to participants about the research and what their role will be in the research; that participation should be voluntary and participants should be informed of their right to withdraw from the study at any stage for any reason or no reason. The British Educational Research
Association’s (2004, Section 9) revised guidelines state that the researcher should ‘Operate within the ethic of respect for any persons involved directly or indirectly in the research they are undertaking, regardless of age, sex, religion, political beliefs and lifestyles or any other significant difference between such persons and the researcher or other participants in the research’.
83 This respect ethic not only relates to the person, but also to the knowledge, democratic values and rights of individual participant. The principle, therefore, implies voluntary informed consent, confidentiality and privacy which are cornerstones in research with human participants. The Open University Code of Practice for Research and those
Conducting Research also touches on the fundamental requirement for researchers to treat participants with respect and ensuring the safety of participants.
In order to meet the requirements of the protocols, prior to starting the interviews I
gathered information on local resources for support and had them on hand when needed. I recognised my limitations and expertise to deal with issues where child participants can be affected by the research process. Skanfors (2009) talks of the necessity of having ‘ethical radars’ throughout the research process and also to recognise that children have other ways of expressing acceptance, rejection and withdrawal rather than just verbalizing. This is particularly relevant in the context of street children who could be sensitive to an intrusion into their space.
I ensured that participants understood that participation was voluntary by providing adequate and accurate information (by way of explanation) in a language easily
understandable by participants and had the information sheet to give those who would have wanted something in writing. However, written text may not work for street children due their circumstances, that is, having no secure place of their own and being on the move constantly. In addition to the above protocol, I was guided by the British Sociological Association research protocol which sets out ethical markers in terms of relationships with research participants including protecting their rights, interests and sensitivities and, in equal measure, acknowledging the difficulty of balancing conflicting interests. The relationship with street children should be based on trust and respect for participants. It is important for researchers to use ‘their’ skills and information that could be understood by
84 the child as well as their judgments to assess the child’s capacity to understand what is being put forward to them.