Research, relevance and respect: Co-creating a guide about involving young people in social research

Abstract

Although children and young people in schools should be asked for their informed consent to participate in research, they rarely have a say in what research takes place in their school. We draw upon debates about youth participation in research to explore young people's preferences about their involvement in research and how they want to be treated by researchers. To do so, we reflect on the process of co-creating a guide for involving young people in social research with a Student Research Committee and their teacher; this involved group discussions, ranking exercises and other interactive sessions that generated ideas about the preferences of the young people about participating in research. Overall, the involvement of young people in all stages of the research process will enhance what they get out of participating and the extent to which they feel their voices have been heard.