The 12th event of the Vienna Evaluation Network took take place on Thursday, November 21, 2019 at 4-5.30pm.

TOPIC: Researching children: Methodological implications of a special population by Susanne Vogl (University of Vienna)

View or download the slides (PDF): Vogl Researching children_VENSlides_2019

Children are increasingly seen as competent informants where their interests and needs are in question. We cannot only rely on assessments of adults, as children have their own view. This has consequences for the social research methods we apply. Typically research methods are developed with adults and their abilities in mind. But children have different needs and abilities and therefore pose specific demands on research design and researcher.

In this talk, methodological premises of interviews and focus groups as means of data collection are examined. The guiding questions are: Which peculiarities result regarding these methods when carried out with children? How can we enhance children’s potential for participation? How can we improve data quality by adapting the method to respondent abilities?

To develop adequate methods for research children, we need to learn more about those skills in interview settings and their dependence on age. Furthermore, children are a vulnerable group which raises questions regarding access and research ethics. Taking skills, methodological foundations and ethical considerations into account, we discuss implications and practicalities of empirical research with children.

Susanne Vogl is a Post-doc Researcher at the University of Vienna. Her research agenda focusses on research methodology. She strives for improving existing methods in social science and developing techniques and methods further. Susanne Vogl’s substantive fields of research include the sociology of deviance, children and young people, family and life course.

WHEN: Wednesday,  November 21, 2019, 4-5.30pm

WHERE: The venue is Berggasse 17, the third-floor conference room of the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research. Please cross the courtyard to find the entrance left in front of you.