Involving young people as co-researchers: some methodological issues

The purpose of this article is to introduce and consider some of the issues which may arise in research projects seeking to engage young people as co-researchers. The article will focus on the methodological challenges faced by one research team in particular, in the design and implementation of a lottery funded project in England which is intended both to improve understanding of young people’s health needs, and to develop better strategies for meeting these.

In developing the project design, the research team judged that a collaborative approach would be appropriate given the subject matter and the intended outcomes of the research. In order to achieve this, considerable thought was given to the implications of recruiting a team of young people to act as ‘co-researchers.’ As a result, a number of significant methodological issues were identified, grouped around several key themes:- practicalities; ethics; validity; and value.

The article develops these questions further, identifying a number of challenges in each area, and exploring the possible consequences for research projects which involve young people as co-researchers. Based on these observations, the article goes on to discuss some of the strategies adopted by the research team carrying out the study in question, in order to address the methodological and ethical concerns identified.

The article concludes that there are very real benefits to be gained by adopting participatory research methods, which clearly offset the additional demands involved in pursuing this kind of approach.