Guidance for Developing Ethical Research Projects Involving Children and Young Adults

In April 2012, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (Now the Department of Children, Disability and Equality) published Guidance for Developing Ethical Research Projects Involving Children, which set out good practice principles for research involving children and young people. This document established core ethical principles and concepts relevant to child-related research, including minimising risk of harm, informed consent and assent, confidentiality and anonymity, child protection, legal obligations and policy commitments, and adopting a child-centred, inclusive approach (DCYA, 2012).

Since then, Ireland has witnessed significant developments in the legal and policy landscape. Notably, the enactment of the Children First Act 2015 (Government of Ireland, 2015) introduced statutory child protection reporting obligations for professionals, including researchers. Additionally, the increasing incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into national policy has strengthened children’s right to be heard (Article 12 UNCRC). These changes have prompted a shift towards more participatory, inclusive, and rights-based approaches in research involving children and young people.

In response to these developments, the Department of Children, Disability, and Equality (DCDE) commissioned Stranmillis University College, a College of Queen’s University Belfast, to undertake a comprehensive programme of work to update and enhance the guidance. This reflected the need to support more meaningful and ethically sound participation of all children, irrespective of age, ability, identity, beliefs, or socio-economic background.

This programme of work comprised four interlinked work packages:

Work Package One established advisory working groups to inform, guide, and shape the project throughout. These included three Children and Young People’s Working Groups (CYPWGs), representing pre-school, primary, and post-primary age groups, alongside an Adult Working Group (AWG). The groups provided crucial insights into policies and evidence, informed the methodology and consultation strategy, and contributed to interpreting findings.

Work Package Two consisted of a comprehensive evidence-based review of relevant international and national literature, legal frameworks, and policy developments since 2012. This review updated understanding of the research context and reaffirmed good practice principles for ethical research with children.

Work Package Three involved qualitative online interviews with twenty international and national experts from disciplines including education, psychology, sociology, and health research. These participants, representing academia, policy, practice, and children’s sector organisations, contributed to a thematic analysis identifying current principles, priorities, and best practices in ethical research with children and young people.

Work Package Four focused on consultations directly with children and young people through playful conversations and focus groups. The diverse sample spanned babies, toddlers, pre-school children, primary and post-primary pupils, as well as an expert panel of care-experienced young people (CEEP). For the youngest participants, Participatory Action Research (PAR) methods facilitated by skilled early childhood educators/co-researchers ensured their expressions and experiences were meaningfully interpreted and represented. Special efforts were made to include seldom-heard voices, such as children with special educational needs, Traveller and Roma communities, refugee and newcomer children, and those impacted by poverty.

The findings from this consultation process and evidence review have been fundamental in shaping the ethical guidance that follows. This guidance is therefore grounded not only in established core principles but also in the lived experiences and voices of children and young people themselves. It goes beyond simply outlining core ethical principles; instead, it proposes a reflective and ethically nuanced framework for consulting with children and young people, including those whose voices are seldom heard. This guidance aims to support researchers in approaching their work with greater ethical sensitivity, reflexivity, and commitment to genuine, inclusive engagement. This guidance should be read in conjunction with the accompanying evidence review, which provides the detailed research and policy context underpinning these recommendations. Together, these documents offer a robust foundation for advancing ethically sound, inclusive, and rights-based research practice involving children and young people.