Abstract
The participation of youth in research is conditional on obtaining their informed consent. When research involves youth below the age of 18 it is a well-established ethical principle to also secure parental consent as part of the research process.1 While the term “youth” is a fluid concept, as explained in the introduction of this volume, the focus in this chapter is on youth aged between 15 to 18 years.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Abrams, L. S. (2010). Sampling ‘hard to reach’ populations in qualitative research: The case of incarcerated youth. Qualitative Social Work, 9(4), 536-550.
Alderson, P., & Morrow, V. (2011). The ethics of research with children and young people: A practical handbook (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
Beazley, H., Bessell, S., Ennew, J., & Waterson, R. (2011). How are the human rights of children related to research methodology? In A. Invernizzi & J. Williams (Eds.), The human rights of children: From visions to implementation (pp. 159-178). Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Limited.
Cocks, A. J. (2006). The ethical maze: Finding an inclusive path towards gaining children’s agreement to research participation. Childhood, 13(2), 247-266.
Cree, E., Kay, H., & Tisdall, K. (2001). Research with children: Sharing the dilemmas. Child & Family Social Work, 7, 47-56.
Curtis, K., Roberts, H., Copperman, J., Downie, A., & Liabo, K. (2004). How come I don’t get asked no questions? Researching ‘hard to reach’ children and teenagers. Child & Family Social Work, 9, 167-175.
Economic and Social Research Council. (2012). Framework for research ethics. Swindon: Economic and Social Research Council.
Felzmann, H., Sixsmith, J., O’Higgins, S., Chonnachtaigh, S. N., & Gabhainn, S. N. (2012). Guidance for developing ethical research projects involving children. Dublin: Irish Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
Felzmann, H., Sixsmith, J., O’Higgins, S., Ní Chonnachtaigh, S., & Nic Gabhainn, S (2010). Ethical review and children’s research in Ireland. The Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dublin: The Stationary Office.
France, A. (2004). Young people. In S. Fraser, V. Lewis, S. Ding, M. Kellett, & C. Robinson (Eds.), Doing research with children and young people (pp. 175-190). London: Sage Publications.
Graham, A., & Fitzgerald, R. (2010). Children’s participation in research: Some possibilities and constraints in the current Australian research enviroment. Journal of Sociology, 46(2), 133-147.
Graham, A., Powell, M., Taylor, N., Anderson, D., & Fitzgerald, R. (2013). Ethical research involving children. Florence: UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti.
Heptinstall, E. (2000). Gaining access to looked after children for research purposes: Lessons learned. British Journal of Social Work, 30(6), 867-872.
Hill, M. (2005). Ethical considerations in researching children’s experiences. In S. Greene & D. Hogan (Eds.), Researching children’s experience: Methods and approaches (pp. 61-86). London: Sage.
Hopkins, P. (2008). Ethical issues in research with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. Children’s Geographies, 6(1), 37-48.
Irish Ombudsman for Children. (2007). Hearing voice: Annual report of the Ombudsman for Children’s Office. Dublin: Ombudsman for Children.
Jones, A. (2004). Children and young people as researchers. In S. Fraser, V. Lewis, S. Ding, M. Kellet, & C. Robinson (Eds.), Doing research with children and young people (pp. 113-130). London: Sage Publications.
Kennan, D., Fives, A., & Canavan, J. (2012). Accessing a hard to reach population: Reflections on research with young carers in Ireland. Child and Family Social Work, 17(3), 275-283.
Kirby, P., & Bryson, S. (2002). Measuring the magic? Evaluating and researching young people’s participation in public decision making. London: Carnegie Young People Initiative.
Lansdown, G. (2005). The evolving capacities of the child. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.
Masson, J. (2009). The legal context. In S. Fraser, V. Lewis, S. Ding, M. Kellet, & C. Robinson (Eds.), Doing Research with Children and Young People (pp. 53-61). London: Sage.
McCarry, M. (2012). Who benefits? A critical reflection of children and young people’s participation in sensitive research. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 15(1), 55-68.
Moolchan, E. T., & Mermelstein, R. (2002). Research on tobacco use among teenagers: Ethical challenges. Journal of Adolescent Health, 30(6), 409-417.
National Ethics Advisory Committee. (2012). Ethical guidelines for intervention studies: Revised edition. Wellington: Ministry of Health.
Powell, M. A., Graham, A., Taylor, N. J., Newell, S., & Fitzgerald, R. (2011). Building capacity for ethical research with children and young people: An international research project to examine ethical issues and challanges in undertaking research with and for children in different majority and minority world contexts. Research Report for the Childwatch International Research Network. Dunedin and Lismore: University of Otago Centre for Research on Children and Families and Centre for Children and Young People.
Roth, M., Voicu, C., David-Kacso, A., Antal, I., Muntean, A., Bumbulut, S., & Baciu, C. (2013). Asking for parental consent in research on exposure of children to violence. Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala, 42, 85-100.
Shaw, C., Brady, L., & Davey, C. (2011). Guidelines for research with children and young people. London: National Children’s Bureau Research Centre.
Shaw, T., Cross, D., Thomas, L. T., & Zubrick, S. R. (2014). Bias in student survey findings from active parental consent procedures. British Educational Research Journal. doi: 10.1002/berj.3137
Sime, D. (2008). Ethical and methodological issues in engaging young people living in poverty with participatory research methods. Children’s Geographies, 6(1), 63-78.
Skelton, T. (2008). Research with children and young people: Exploring the tensions between ethics, competence and participation. Children’s Geographies, 6(1), 21-36.
Thomas, N., & O’Kane, C. (1998). The ethics of participatory research with children. Children and Society, 12, 336-348.
Tiggs, B. B. (2003). Parental consent and adolescent risk behaviour. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 35(3), 283-289.
UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. (2009). General comment No. 12: The rights of the child to be heard. UN Doc. CRC/C/GC/12. Geneva.
US Department of Health and Human Services. (2009). Protection of human subjects. Title 45 CFR, Part 46.
Valentine, G., Butler, R., & Tracey, S. (2001). The ethical and methodological complexities of doing research with ‘vulnerable’ young people. Ethics, Place and Environment, 4(2), 119-125.
Wagener, D., Sporer, A., Simmerling, M., Flome, J., An, C., & Curry, S. (2004). Human participants challenges in youth-focused research: Perspectives and practices of IRB administrators. Ethics and Behaviour, 14(4), 335-349.
Zuch, M., Mason-Jones, A., Mathews, C., & Henley, L. (2012). Changes to the law on consent in South Africa: Implications for school-based adolescent sexual and reproductive health research. BMC International Health and Human Rights, 12(1), 1-5.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Sense Publishers
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kennan, D. (2015). Understanding the Ethical Requirement for Parental Consent When Engaging Youth in Research. In: Bastien, S., Holmarsdottir, H.B. (eds) Youth ‘At the Margins’. New Research – New Voices. SensePublishers, Rotterdam. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-052-9_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-052-9_5
Publisher Name: SensePublishers, Rotterdam
Online ISBN: 978-94-6300-052-9
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)