The adult-child relationship represents an imbalance of power, which must be acknowledged and managed during the research context. A classic example of this imbalance of power is the kind of research that occurs in classroom contexts. Here, children can feel pressured to participate in research because their teachers or parents encourage them to do so. Researchers have an ethical responsibility to ensure that all children who participate in their projects actively consent to do so.

Research contexts are also influenced by adults' perceptions of children. Children are often conceptualised as vulnerable, relatively powerless or even incompetent research participants. It is, therefore, essential that researchers reflect on and acknowledge their own conceptualisation of children and young people both in the initial planning phase and throughout the research process. As the theories toolkit illustrates, the concept of ‘child’ or ‘children’ along with alternative terms such as ‘youth’, ‘kid’, ‘adolescent’ or ’teenager’ is complicated and is not immediately clear which concepts suit best. Even references to various age ranges or years do not solve the situation. Researchers need to carefully consider the implications of their conceptualisation of children and young people throughout the research process.

Related to more restrictive conceptualisations of children and childhood, children’s participation in research can also be influenced by protective legislation or by their parents or guardians. In each case, children may be forbidden from participating in research because of moral panic or fear about the extent to which they might be exposed to potential harms. While respecting relevant legislation and the wishes of parents or guardians, researchers have an ethical responsibility to include children and young people in research that concerns them.

Finally, children and young people’s participation in research may also be influenced by the presence of adults, such as parents, guardians or teachers, during the research project. For example, children participating in online interview-based research might be influenced by a parent or guardian who is present in the same room as them but not visible on screen. Researchers should therefore consider appropriate strategies to manage situations where children and young people’s participation in research are influenced or constrained by other adults.

Children and young people need to be invited to participate in research projects and to be encouraged to voice their opinions on the topics that are relevant. In recruitment, researchers also need to pay attention to ensure that a diverse range of children from various backgrounds, abilities and competences, are included in research where possible. 

In each case, researchers need to plan for research and design methods in ways that will facilitate children’s participation and expression. In qualitative research in particular, there is an established approach to using resources such as worksheets, drawings and photographs to provide children and young people with alternative means to express their opinions beyond what can be achieved in a traditional interview or focus group settings. At the same time, these research-based tools and resources need to be well designed to retain an openness for children’s own opinions and ideas, and to ensure that children, who have evolving capacities and understandings of research contexts, can engage in research in an appropriate way.

The internet and digital media introduce new platforms and arenas where children can access, interact with, produce and consume media content. When researching in online environments, children and young people are often both present in and co-creating the context and socio-technical sites in which the research is occurring. In spite of this, the central ethical principles on which research is based remain the same. 

Regarding their duty of care to children and young people, researchers should be mindful to consider how their methods and research interactions might impact and influence young research participants. During the recent Covid-19 pandemic, a number of research projects were transferred from physical to online contexts, requiring researchers to develop strategies to ensure that children and young people were not exposed to unnecessary risks or harm. Pothong and Livingstone, for example, limited the duration of online consultations with children and young people and allowed for more spontaneous and flexible approaches to group formation in interview contexts.  They also turned off the chat function during interviews and only used break-out rooms when they had the resources to moderate these. 

Furthermore, as Ilbury points out, researchers need to consider how the sociotechnical affordances of new media can introduce both new risks for children who participate in research while at the same time providing tools which researchers can use to inform and remind research participants of ongoing research projects and contexts. Ilbury, for example, used ‘screenshot notifications’ to remind research participants of his presence as a researcher in their social media feeds. This, he argues, is particularly relevant in contexts where young participants might reveal potentially sensitive information. 

A further consideration arises regarding when and how to seek informed consent from research participants, including children and young people, who engage only digitally with the research. Based on their experiences of researching in schools in Estonia during the Covid-19 pandemic, Kalmus et al. highlight the importance of the three ‘Cs’ of planning for the research context, namely ‘Communication’ about the research with relevant parties, considering how to appropriately secure informed ‘Consent’, and considering the differences between engaging in research in physical, hybrid and digital ‘Classroom’ contexts.

Children and young people’s digital lives continue to be influenced by evolving technological innovation with particular regard to the development of new media platforms, apps and algorithmically-driven content. It is important that researchers continue to share the lessons they have learned, and protocols they have developed, to support children and young people’s meaningful participation and engagement in a range of research contexts. In particular, researchers need to plan for engagement with children and young people in digital environments, and to consider ways to ensure meaningful and informed participation that reflect the changing experiences and expectations of research participants. 

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