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Involving children and young people in participatory research can be of great benefit to the young participants as well as to researchers. However that involvement also raises a number of ethical and access challenges.

Involving Children and Young People in Research is a compendium of papers that seek to define and address those challenges within the broader context of changing attitudes toward the right of children and young people to play an active role in the decisions and actions that shape their lives. The compendium is one result of a symposium held in November 2008, co-hosted by NSW Commission for Children and Young People and ARACY. The Think Tank brought together leaders in the field of participatory research to share their experience and identify what works and what doesn’t work in research that is with and by children – as well as for and about them.

The 14 researchers whose work is featured in this compendium are leaders in the field of participatory research, who have shared their experience about what works in practice and what does not work when conducting research that is with and by children as well as about and for them. The papers draw attention to the methodological, ethical and consent issues when involving children and young people in research.

The compendium provides researchers, policy makers and ethics committees with a wealth of material for assessing and addressing the ethical and practical issues around participatory research with children and young people, and suggests four major areas for action:

• Building the capacity of children: Strengthening children’s understanding of and engagement, inclusion and participation in research
• Building the understanding and knowledge of gatekeepers: Engaging with ethics committees and other research bodies to promote understanding of participatory research involving children, and associated ethical issues
• Building the knowledge and capacity of researchers: Developing specific components for university courses covering research methods with children and young people, and encouraging more participatory research
• Increasing the influence of research: Improving the way research findings bring about change in policies or practices that have an impact on children’s lives.

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