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CO:RE

Key areas of research ethics: Protecting and promoting children's rights and agency in research

This key area provides a general introduction to the topic and includes more detailed information about the following frequently asked questions:

  • How can research be undertaken in a way that is respectful of children’s rights?

  • How might children’s participation in research be influenced by power relations?

  • How can children’s perspectives and voices be respected and taken into account in research contexts?

  • What aspects of the online environment complicate these issues?

On this page, you also find resources to help you to understand the key research ethical considerations that arise when protecting and promoting children’s rights and agency throughout the research process. The resources include animated films, key readings, webinars, blogs, links toour Zotero library and more. 

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Research should be undertaken in a way that is respectful of children’s rights. This should be considered throughout the research process - from planning, which includes the selection of research questions and methods, to implementation, including recruitment and data gathering. Children’s rights and agency should also be promoted and protected during analysis and in the publication and dissemination of research findings. In particular, children’s agency and active participation should be encouraged throughout the research process. In this section we outline some key considerations that arise in various phases of research. We address a number of key researcher questions to provide more in-depth information under relevant headings. We also provide links to related resources. 

A reading list and other resources you may want to check out...

Watch the CO:RE animated movie to help researchers explain kids' rights as research participants

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Video: "Have you been invited to participate in research? Then you should watch this film."; a resource for researchers working with children and young people. | License: CC-By-NC-SA | If you should have trouble loading this video or want to see this movie in other languages, you can watch it here on our YouTube channel. | Please cite as: Staksrud, E., Ní Bhroin, N., Torp, I.S., & Johannessen, L.O. (2022). Have you been invited to participate in research? Then you should watch this film. Retrieved DD Month YYYY, from https://core-evidence.eu/posts/open-source-movie-childrens-rights-as-research-participants.

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