The Ethics of Research with Children

About the lecture

In this lecture, we approach a topic littered with questions around ethical research practice –research with children, focusing in particular on: (i) outlining why working with children is so different from working with adults, focusing on children’s vulnerability, lack of understanding, and state of relative disempowerment; (ii) the famous Gillick case, wherein a child consented to a medical procedure, and the ethical debates that resulted from its outcome; (iii) the idea of assent, a particularly important concept when working with young children; (iv) opt-in and opt-out consent; (v) the considerations made when working with children who might be under the care of social services, or another adult who is not their parent.

About the lecturer

John Oates is emeritus professor of developmental psychology at the Open University. His special field of research is child development, specifically perinatal mental health and early child development. Professor Oates is the lead for the British Psychological Society code of human research ethics and has a position in Brussels working for the European Research Council reviewing research bids. Some of Professor Oates’ recent publications include ‘Social constructions of mental health among Romani in Ukraine’ (2021) and ‘Mothers’ perceptions of their infants’ (2019).