Child Research Ethics & Methods
Funding
Centre de Santé et de Services Sociaux de la Montagne (2013-2014)
Co-researchers
Mónica Ruiz-Casares (PI), Cécile Rousseau (McGill University)
Summary
The Participatory Photography Assessment Tool (P-PAT) is an affordable and developmentally appropriate visual research method designed to enable young children participation in protection research. It can be used with older participants too as a tool to surface non-normative responses. The use of locally relevant photographs and drawings aims to make the tool culturally appropriate to different contexts. Through a 6-stage process, researchers are guided to adapt the tool to the study objectives and setting conditions, implement it, and analyze and disseminate results.
Selected Publications
Ruiz-Casares, M. (2021). The Participatory Photography Assessment Tool (P-PAT). In Jamieson, L., Feinstein, C., Kapell, A., & Dulieu, N. (2021). Working together: Including children in research on violence against children (external link) . A resource pack for research practitioners. Edinburgh: End Violence Partnership Knowledge Network, End Violence Lab and Save the Children. p 97-98.
Ruiz-Casares, M. (2016). Growing healthy children and communities: Children’s insights in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Global Public Health, 11(5-6), 564-582. doi: 10.1080/17441692.2016.1166256.
Ruiz-Casares, M., Rousseau, D., Morlu, J., and Browne, C. (2013). Eliciting Children’s Perspectives of Risk and Protection: How To Do It and Why Does It Matter (external link) . Child and Youth Care Forum, 42, 425 – 437. DOI 10.1007/s10566-013-9208-z.
Funding
Centre de Santé et de Services Sociaux de la Montagne (2013-2014)
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) (2020-2025)
Co-researchers
Mónica Ruiz-Casares (PI), Jennifer Thompson (co-PI Montreal), Maliphone Douangphachanh (National University of Laos), Abdul-Rahim Mohammed (University of Development Studies), Afua Twum-Danso Imoh (University of Bristol).
Summary
Several projects in Canada, Cameroon, Ghana, and Laos explore an innovative way of providing information related to research to children. The overall objective of these studies is to explore the use of photovoice and a participatory research approach with diverse groups of children as a method for enabling children’s consent/dissent to research participation. Ultimately, studies aimed at developing visual informed consent (VIC) forms with children using qualitative and participatory research methods.
The first study involves two phases: one phase with school-aged immigrant children in Montreal (Canada) and a separate phase involving school-aged children in Cameroon. This study aims to provide children with an opportunity to learn about informed consent and research participation. Negotiation, asking questions, asking permission and thinking through decision-making are important life skills that are promoted during workshops for children. Moreover, photography provides an engaging, empowering, and inclusive space for participants of all levels and abilities to engage in discussion, regardless of their literacy abilities.
This qualitative study highlights the importance of obtaining meaningful and understandable consent from children. Using participatory visual research methods, another study develops a VIC form in the format of a storybook and gathers feedback from children to enhance both the VIC form and the consent process. Single-session group activities took place with primary school-aged children in diverse sociocultural settings, including Canada, Ghana, and the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). The findings indicate that children respond positively to the VIC form, with most expressing confidence in their peers' ability to grasp the concepts it presents. The VIC form appears to be an engaging tool, aiding children's understanding of key consent-related concepts such as study purpose, confidentiality, voluntariness, and compensation.
Selected Publications
Ruiz-Casares, M., & Thompson, J. (2016). Obtaining meaningful informed consent: Preliminary results of a study to develop visual informed consent forms with children (external link) . Children's Geographies, 14(1), 35-45. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2014.971713