Who benefits? A critical reflection of children and young people’s participation in sensitive research

Abstract

This article aims to contribute to debates about the current orthodoxy in relation to involving young people as participants in social research. This article will reflect on the increasing trend of including young people to greater degrees in social science research and questions whether ‘user involvement’ necessarily benefits the users or produces ‘better’ research. The dilemmas encountered in establishing and working with a Young People’s Advisory Group for a research project on young people’s experiences of violence in their intimate relationships are discussed in a way that illustrates the complexity of achieving benefits both for the young people and for the research.

Keywords:

• children
• young people
• participation
• sensitive research

Acknowledgements

I would very much like to extend appreciation to Christine Barter and David Berridge for comments on earlier drafts of this article. I would also like to thank the three anonymous reviewers for insightful and helpful comments.

Notes

1. Year 10s are usually 14 or 15 years old and would therefore be registered at school for the duration of the two-year project.