Gatekeeper what is your role? Children‘s participation in research

• Main Authors: Kristinsdóttir, Guðrún, Árnadóttir, Hervör Alma
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: Menntavísindasvið Háskóla Íslands 2016
• Subjects: children; access; gatekeeping; research; participation; power; börn; aðgengi; hliðverðir; rannsóknir; þátttaka; vald; Iceland
• Online Access: https://ojs.hi.is/index.php/netla/article/view/2419

Children‘s participation in research is often controlled by key professionals and institutions involved with children. They have the role of enabling research and handling access applications. This may involve not recommending or censuring projects that do not meet required ethical standards. Gatekeepers also assess what ethical issues may be at stake and they have to consider protection needs and the rights of children who participate in research. This includes deciding when and whether it is appropriate or not for children to participate. Research involving children certainly raises several ethical questions, which need to be addressed by the researcher. The researcher needs to consider questions concerning how best to meet interests of children and participating institutions, including key professionals involved who are required to follow certain standards and have the role of ensuring the quality of research. This paper explores experiences of researchers that have gained formal access to institutions, which enabled them to involve children as active participants in research. It builds on a qualitative research involving focus group interviews with 8 professional researchers affiliated with the University of Iceland. The participants shared a background of having conducted research with children. The findings indicate that researchers had mixed experiences of dealing with gatekeeping institutions and professionals in those institutions. Barriers identified to access to children participants were unclear evaluations made by gatekeepers regarding their meaning of ´vulnerable´ research topics. Gatekeepers were found to hinder children´s participation on occasions, underpinned by their view of children as primarily vulnerable group rather than as individuals with diverse capabilities and needs which research may need to highlight. Participants commented that personal contacts with professionals often helped them to gain access to children participants. After access had been granted gatekeepers however kept on ...