Invitation to Research: Invitation to Learn

Abstract

This article analyzes the process of acquiring informed consent from parents of economically disadvantaged children 7 to 12 years of age at a Boys & Girls Club in a Midwest city. The article addresses the following question: What are the obstacles in mainstream research to including children’s voluntary participation in research that intends to benefit their lives? The lessons gained from requesting an invitation into the lives of poor children through informed-consent processes inform future social work research methods.

KEYWORDS:

• children
• informed consent
• IRB research
• parents
• poverty