Ethical Research Involving Children (ERIC) project to support researchers


Wed 17 Dec 2014

An international project aiming to assist researchers in understanding, planning and conducting ethical research involving children and young ...

An international project aiming to assist researchers in understanding, planning and conducting ethical research involving children and young people was launched in October 2014.

The Ethical Research Involving Children (ERIC) project aims to "help ensure research approaches are ethically sound, children are respected and their views and perspectives gathered and reported with integrity." The project aims to decrease the sense of isolation researchers feel when considering ethical issues.

University of Otago Associate Professor Nicola Taylor said "Part of the difficulty lies in the fact there are no clear-cut answers or universal solutions to every ethical concern, not least because the range of research contexts and issues being investigated differ so markedly."

ERIC aims to journey with researchers in refining research approaches which respect the rights and dignity of children and support researchers to engage in critical reflection on the complexities of research involving children.

ERIC has developed an International Charter for Ethical Research Involving Children and a compendium (6.23 MB) on ethical issues and challenges including cases studies and structured questions to guide research involving children. The website also provides a repository of evidence-based information, resources and links to journal articles.

The ERIC project is a product of a partnership between University of Otago Children's Issues Centre (CIC), the UNICEF Office of Research, Childwatch International Research Network and Southern Cross University's Centre for Children and Young People.

Additional Resource:

Ethical research involving children: Putting the evidence into practice. Anne Graham, Mary Ann Powell and Nicola Taylor. Australian Institute of Family Studies, Family Matters No.96, June 2015.

Cater, A., & Øverlien, C. (2013). Children exposed to domestic violence: A discussion about research ethics and researchers’ responsibilities. Nordic Social Work Research, Vol. 4, Iss. 1.

Media

Otago researcher “excited” to see UNICEF partnership project launched, University of Otago, 31.10.2014

Image: Pixabay