Conducting research with children and young people
Some key points
- Always get parental consent for interviewing children.
- No study can ask a child to do something illegal for their age group.
- The language on the questionnaire must be suitable for the age group.
Obtaining a waiver of rule B27 (parental consent)
Further to rule B27 of the MRS Code of Conduct, there may be occasions when obtaining consent for research into sensitive subjects would, for example, cause potential harm to the child or young person (e.g. researching the use of confidential helplines). In these cases – and in social research where there may be valid reasons to conduct interviews without consent – the requirement for consent may be waived but only with the explicit prior approval of the MRS Market Research Standards Board.
Researchers seeking to waive the requirements for parental consent must make a written application to the MRS Market Research Standards Board containing:
- A written statement outlining the ethical reasons why a waiver is required (e.g. why this research needs to be done, what harm or adverse consequences could be caused by asking for consent, etc.)
- A copy of the questionnaire, discussion guide or other data collection instrument to be used.
- Any stimulus material, show cards, etc. that form part of the data collection process.
The MRS Market Research Standards Board may:
- refuse to grant a waiver;
- grant an unconditional waiver; or
- grant a waiver subject to amendment of the methodology or materials.
Repeat or tracker projects must obtain a new waiver on each occasion they are run.
If you would like to make an application for a waiver, please contact Julie Corney, Standards & Compliance Co-ordinator (Julie.Corney@mrs.org.uk).
Update – CRB checks and research with children
On February 11 2011 the Coalition Government published the findings of its Review into the Vetting and Barring Scheme. You can read the report at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime/vetting-barring-scheme/.
Key recommendations from the VBS Review include:
- the merging of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) to form a new body providing a proportionate barring and criminal records checking service;
- a large reduction of the number of positions requiring checks to just those working most closely and regularly with children and vulnerable adults;
- portability of criminal records checks between jobs to cut down on needless bureaucracy;
- an end to a requirement for those working or volunteering with vulnerable groups to register with the VBS; and
- stopping employers who knowingly request criminal records checks on individuals who are not entitled to them.
The categories of work for which CRB checks are available were re-defined in October 2009 and will be narrowed further under these proposals. The proposed system will require new legislation and is expected to enter force in 2013.
CRB checks may be available for work with children in research projects, if the research takes place in certain locations, such as schools or hospitals, at least once a week or four times in a month.
Find out more
Conducting research with children and young people (PDF 175KB, PDF Help)
Published January 2012
See also:
Frequently Asked Questions
 How
do I get permission when a child is completing a survey online?
 Online surveys
still require permission to be sought to continue with a survey. This
can be obtained by inserting an age screener before moving on to the
questionnaire section. If a respondent is underage then you can ask
them for parental contact details to call to ask for permission to
continue. An identification code number can then be given to the parent
for the child to enter on the screen in order to continue. This should
not be done via email as personal identification is impossible.
See: MRS Code of Conduct: Rule B31
I don't
want to get parental permission as it may bias the answers given by
a child. Can I do this?
You must always
get parental permission to interview a child. However, there are certain
circumstances when permission may cause potential harm to the child
due to the sensitivity of the research topic. A consent waiver may be obtained but only with explicit prior approval from the MRS Market Research Standards Board.
See: MRS Code of Conduct: Rule B27 and comment
I
have discovered during an interview that a child is in danger of abuse.
What can I do?
Market research
is not above the law. The advice given in these circumstances is to
discuss the matter with a supervisor (to ensure no misunderstandings)
and if there is evidence, to report the matter to the relevant authorities.
Are there any guidelines on the research and development for communications
technology for children?
Yes there
are. The European Telecoms Standards Institute (ETSI) has produced
some guidelines for the design of ICT products for children. There
are a number of issues which have been raised by this body including
the fact that pre-teens’ needs are not the same as teenagers,
Anne Clarke the ETSI project co-ordinator commented that “we
cannot allow young children unsupervised access to telecommunications
products and services which are designed primarily for responsible
adults” mainly because children under 12 do not have the manual,
physical, emotional or psychological skills of adults or older teenagers.
For more information on the ‘Guidelines for the design and deployment
of ICT products and services used by children’ please go to http://portal.etsi.org/STFs/HF/STF266.asp.
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