Ethical issues in the involvement of young service users in research

2008 Conference

This paper is an invitation to a debate and focuses on an area that is rarely discussed in academic papers; the ethical issues in involving young service users as co-researchers. The paper builds on the practical experience of the presenter and begins by identifying a model of participation and the benefits and costs of usually associated with this approach. We then move onto the substance of the paper and first discuss the ethical issues before research begins:

• Who funds?
• Research ethics approval
• The morally active practitioner
• Recruitment of co-researchers
• Gatekeepers —schools, parents and service providers
• Safeguarding- legal and child protection
• Informing-for-consent
• Exploitation, reward and recognition

Ethical issues in the research process up to data analysis

• Unanticipated events
• Support needs of young people
• Confidentiality
• Recording and storing information
• Researcher discomfort

Ethical issues after the data analysis

• Authorship –
• Publication risks
• Presentation of findings
• Endings

From this discussion it is hoped to encourage a dialogue which gives the audience an opportunity to consider the differences between the ethical issues of co-researchers and research participants, adults and children, where this approach might be useful and how it might be kept honest.

Authors

McLaughlin ~ Hugh

Director of Social Work and Social Policy, University of Salford. Hugh was a social worker who ended up as an Assistant Director of Children's Services before moving to academia where his research interests include participatory research, child care, preventative social work and learning organisations. In his spare time he likes to read, run, and best of all, go scuba diving!

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