The Traditional Perspective Of Doing Research On Youth To Doing Research With Youth

By Author: Mark Gary
Total Articles: 61

Researchers must balance the cognitive, affective, social, and sensorimotor needs of youth informants with the demands of collecting rigorous, high-quality, and minimally biased data. In response to this challenge, the research team developed the "Tween Day" methodology, a five-hour research "play date" combining social interaction, creative play, and multiple data collection methods. The agenda included carefully selected and structured activities that Juicy Couture Watch would meet the developmental needs of our target population while allowing the collection of a rich data set. Beyond triangulating data through the use of multiple methods, which is a common qualitative approach, the type and order of activities were selected:
1. To engage and stimulate tween participants
2. To provide an array of interactions with adult researchers and peers
3. To promote a sense of empowerment and achievement

The focus of our research design was moving from the traditional perspective of doing research on youth to doing research with youth. Table 1 illustrates the different elements of the research program and how they supported the developmental needs of tween participants, as identified in the youth services philosophy of Patrick Jones [46]. The researchers felt that this service philosophy was consistent with the developmental theory used to guide this research and that it Cheap Juicy Couture helped frame research activities in terms of youth-centered outcomes. The procedural elements are divided into four categories: child protection, schedule design, data collection, and incentives and recognition.

1. Child protection: The researchers provided the tweens with structure and clear limits to their participation. They set up the norms of social interaction among adults and youth at the beginning of the study.
2. Schedule design: Knowing that tweens need to move, eat, and talk with each other in a relaxed atmosphere, the researchers created a schedule to facilitate physical activity and positive social interaction. Keeping the students moving and engaged through regular activity change was essential to preventing boredom and fatigue, as well as impolite, aggressive, or disruptive behavior.
3. Data collection: Multiple methods of data collection were employed to triangulate data, permit different types of interaction among tweens and adults, and play to the different strengths of individual participants. Focus groups of from four to six preteens, individual interviews, and a lab-based WebQuest activity afforded creative expression and collaboration with other tweens and adults.
4. Incentives and recognition: The researchers provided two levels of recognition to tweens: gifts that served as a measure of appreciation for their participation and personalized certificates that demonstrated the importance of their contribution to the research effort. Both were meant to afford a sense of meaningful participation and achievement.