When conducting research with children and young people, researchers should ensure that risk and harm in research is minimised and that adequate protection is ensured.
Research involving children and young people should only be conducted where:
- The research question posed is important to the health and well-being of children
- The participation of children is indispensable
- The study method is appropriate for children
- The circumstances in which the research is conducted provide for the physical, emotional and psychological safety of the child
- Informed consent has been obtained
- Ethics approval has been granted.
You should review this guidance alongside UCL guidance on data protection for research with children and safeguarding policies.
Ethical Research Involving Children (ERIC)*
To encourage greater consideration of ethical issues in research with children, the UNICEF Office of Research in collaboration with other organisations, has created an Ethical Research Involving Children Compendium. Resources include an International Charter and a Compendium on ethical issues and challenges, including over 20 case studies.
Everyone thinking about doing research with children should read and reflect on the questions they pose in the chapter ‘Getting Started’, designed to help guide the researchers when planning and conducting research involving children. The main points for consideration are highlighted below.
*This information has been reproduced from Graham, A., Powell, M., Taylor, N., Anderson, D. & Fitzgerald, R. (2013). Ethical Research Involving Children. Florence: UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti. © United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Further reading
- The Ethics of Research with Children and Young People
- Ethics of Research With People Under Eighteen (PDF)
- Information Commissioner's Office - Children’s code
- Department of Health: Consent – what you have a right to expect. A guide for children and young people
- UNICEF: Child and Youth Participation Resource Guide
- NSPCC: Research with children: ethics, safety and avoiding harm
- UKRI Research with children and young people
- The Child Protection Practice Manual
- Population Council: Ethical approaches to gathering information for children and adolescents in international settings
- The experience of taking part in a national survey: A child's perspective
- How to best support children's participation in research? Considerations, strategies, and resources for ethics and consent
- But, what is a researcher?: Supporting informed consent with young children.
- What is a researcher? A video for children