This special meeting of the Child and Youth Participation SIG invited all CRN members to come together to discuss experiences, concerns and best practices around the use of online tools and platforms to access children and young people’s voices across research, policy and practice.

Items discussed:

• Available, accessible and appropriate online platforms

• Limitations of online tools and platforms

• Unequal access to devices/ broadband

• Implications of engaging children and young people in ‘home’ contexts

• Reaching children and young people – challenges and best practice

• Child Protection

• Ethical issues

12th May 2020, 11am-1pm

Missed the session?

The notes from the session are available to all CRN members on the new CRN membership site (Notes not populating? Go to 'Main Page', click on 'Already a Member' on top right of page, and log in. If it's your first time logging into our new membership site, type in your email address associated with your CRN membership, and an email will be sent to you to set you up. Any difficulties, contact childrensresearchnetwork@tcd.ie)

Some relevant literature to whet your appetite!

• Berman, S (2020) Ethical Considerations for Evidence Generation Involving Children on the COVID-19 Pandemic. UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti Discussion Paper. https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/DP%202020-01.pdf
  
• Jowett, A (2020) Carrying out qualitative research under lockdown – Practical and ethical considerations. LSE Impact Blog https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2020/04/20/carrying-out-qualitative-research-under-lockdown-practical-and-ethical-considerations/
• Shapka, J et al (2016) Online versus in-person interviews with adolescents: An exploration of data equivalence. Computers in Human Behavior, Vol 58, Pages 361-367.
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563216300164
  Abstract: This study compared data quantity and quality of interviews conducted with adolescents in a face-to-face setting versus online. Thirty participants in grades 10 through 12 participated in semi-structured interviews either through instant messaging or in-person. Results indicated that interviews conducted online produced fewer words and took longer to complete, and involved more rapport-building, however, there were no mean differences in the level of self-disclosure and the formality of the interviews, nor in the number and kind of themes that emerged or in the depth to which the themes were discussed. The findings suggest that despite taking longer and producing fewer words, data quality is unaffected by the mode of data collection (online versus face-to-face).
  
• Šléglová, V., & Cerna, A. (2011). Cyberbullying in Adolescent Victims: Perception and Coping. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 5(2), Article 4. Retrieved from https://cyberpsychology.eu/article/view/4248/3294
  
Abstract: The present qualitative explorative study deals with cyberbullying from the perspective of adolescents. It focuses mainly on the impacts and consequences of cyberbullying, and on the coping strategies chosen by victims to deal with the situation. The data was obtained through semi-structured interviews with 15 adolescents aged 14-18 years, all of whom were cyberbullying victims. It was found that cyberbullying experiences led to changes in the victims' behaviour, and that these could be positive in the form of behavioural changes in cyberspace. Mainly this was due to victims creating a cognitive pattern of bullies, which consequently helped them to recognise aggressive people. Bullying also provoked feelings of caution, and brought about restriction in the use of risky online sources of threats as victims tried to prevent its recurrence. Critical impacts occurred in almost all of the respondents’ cases in the form of lower self-esteem, loneliness and disillusionment and distrust of people: The more extreme impacts were self-harm and increased aggression towards friends and family. Based on their experience, the victims of cyberbullying developed coping strategies in order to cope with cyberbullying. These strategies took several forms: technical defence, activity directed at the aggressor, avoidance, defensive strategies, and social support. The activities of the victims when dealing with this stressful situation varied, which was probably influenced by different contexts, personal traits, and the development of the respondents. The findings further revealed that some coping strategies (i.e. technical coping or telling parents) are in many situations either non-functional or just cannot be used, a theme which is further discussed with respect to previous research in the field.