Ethical Research With Children ― Untold Narratives and Taboos

An increasing interest in children's lives and the seeking out of their lived experiences has tested the ethical and practical limits of research. Incorporating their voices in meaningful ways is undoubtedly challenging but there remains a lack of acknowledgement of the 'messiness' involved in engaging children in research. Rather than making tricky ethical decisions, transparent researchers tend to gloss over stories that do not fit with sanitized narratives. This co-authored book aims to fill this gap by going beyond what is commonly found in existing books, by making explicit the lived experiences of research with children.

Sarah Richards is a Senior Lecturer at University Campus Suffolk, UK. Her research interests include ethnographic approaches to research, intercountry adoption policy, and stories and narratives of belonging. She has worked most recently producing a working paper on children's best interests for proposed amendments to the Hague Convention of Intercountry Adoption 2015.


Jessica Clark is a Senior Lecturer at University Campus Suffolk, UK. She is a sociologist publishing in the fields of sexualisation, children's sexual cultures and contemporary boyhoods. Jessica is committed to sex and sexuality, embodiment and ethical debates in childhood and youth research.

Allison Boggis is Senior Lecturer at University Campus Suffolk, UK. She has a particular interest in researching with marginalized groups and has extensive research experience with disabled children and young people. Her innovative and creative methodologies have attracted national and international attention. Her current research interests include e-safety, disability and ethics.