The potential and challenges of rights-based research with children and young people: experiences from Bangladesh

Abstract

Drawing on my PhD field research in Bangladesh, this paper contributes to the growing body of methodological literature on young people's right to participate in research. I reflexively evaluate the approach and ethics that I employed in my research, arguing that we must recognise the social and spatial dimensions of participation, which shape ethical issues of access and the construction of obedience, privacy and confidentiality. I reflect critically on the impact of inter-generational power relations on young people's voluntary participation, and conclude by arguing that methodology - including ethical responses - needs to be context-specific. My experience reveals the challenges of translating rights-based research into practice.