{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.014972419227738377, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0, 'mean_word_length': 5.446700507614213, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Ethical issues in qualitative research addressing sensitive issues with children and young people

This chapter maps ethical issues which arise in conducting qualitative research into sensitive issues – such as sexuality – with children and young people under eighteen years of age. Our purpose is to provide information for researchers in the field and members of Ethics Committees who evaluate proposals in this area. We begin by defending the use of qualitative research with young people to study sensitive issues. Within the research community, increasing importance is being placed on the opinions and perspectives of those under eighteen, which qualitative research is well placed to record. Understanding young people as active makers of meaning – including as active research participants – lessens the concern that they must be ‘protected’ from information and instead points us towards ethics as the most important framework for managing this research. There are, of course, a number of particular ethical concerns confronting researchers undertaking research about sexuality with young people. We identify two important approaches to addressing these concerns: creating safe spaces for young people to participate, and the use of reflexive research methods.