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Ethics and consent in research with children and young people in global development
Book chapter

Ethics and consent in research with children and young people in global development

Julia Truscott, Antonia Canosa and Anne Graham
Routledge Handbook of Childhood Studies and Global Development, pp.61-75
Routledge, First edition
2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003155843-7
Appears in  Recent Faculty of Health Publications

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Abstract

Social work not elsewhere classified Expanding knowledge in human society
This chapter reflects upon some of the ethical challenges of engaging children in global development research, with a focus on informed consent. Drawing on the major international ethical research involving children (ERIC) initiative, this chapter explores four 'best practice' principles for approaching informed consent in ERIC: (1) Consent involves an explicit act; (2) consent must be informed; (3) consent must be given voluntarily; and (4) consent must be renegotiable. Framed by these principles, this chapter discusses some of the challenges that can pose as barriers to children's meaningful participation in development research at global and local levels. It shares an ethical approach to such dilemmas, grounded in the ERIC framework of 'Three Rs' - rights, relationships and reflexivity - to assist researchers in remaining attuned to the needs, safety and wellbeing of children in diverse circumstances. Ultimately, this highlights that when informed consent is approached as an on-going and relational process that extends throughout the research process, it can help create a respectful and dialogic space within which researchers and the children involved in their research (whether as participants, co-researchers or something in-between) can continue to discuss and negotiate arising ethical issues.

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