Ethical Considerations in Research with Children: Focusing on Children's Right to Participation

Abstract

Over the past few decades, a considerable amount of literature has been published on social studies of children and childhood in South Korea. There has also been a growth in research conducted directly with children, however, little attention has been paid to research ethics. Previously-published studies of research ethics tended to focus on how to protect children from potential risk of harm during the research process. Going beyond a child protection perspective, this paper explores ethical considerations in research with children, focusing on children’s right to participation. A range of child-friendly approaches need to be developed in order to enable children to express their own opinions and participate in decision-making throughout the research process. This paper mainly discusses ethical considerations in relation to gatekeepers, informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality, and protection from harm and distress, and concludes with suggestions for the practice of ethical research and further studies on the ethics of research with children.