Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2006, Page 79

SAMLEIKAGERÐ í NÝTSLUMENTANINl HJÁ BØRNUM
77
Ethnographic methodology and the
study of children
Traditionally the methodologies employed
within the scientific consumer socialization
paradigm are objective (thus researcher and
researched have distanced social relation-
ships) and are quantitative in nature (surveys
and experiments). Therefore, they typically
result in relatively short periods of time
being spent with children. This means that
researchers have little time to gather rich
meaningful data about children as con-
sumers. Frequently research does not even
ask for children’s own input about their
lives, but focuses on parents as informants
(e.g. Haynes, et. al., 1993), furthermore,
children may be (de)selected to participate
in research based on their verbal (in)abili-
ties (e.g. Derscheid et. al., 1996). The im-
plications are that children’s voices are
either not heard at all or at best selectively
heard. Therefore, it is the task of researchers
to design research and adopt methodologies
ensuring the voices of children are not lim-
ited to those informants that are “easier” to
research.
It has been contended by several authors
(e.g. James et. al., 2001; Rizzo and Corsaro,
1992) that ethnography is a central qualita-
tive methodology within the childhood stud-
ies perspective. Ethnography is essentially
a methodology of which the main feature is
the search for pattems within everyday life
and involves “...the ethnographer partici-
pating, overtly or covertly, in peoples’ lives
for an extended period of time..watching,
listening and asking questions (Hammersly
and Atkinson (1995:1). Therefore, etlmog-
raphy as a methodology enables researchers
to adopt a child-centric approach within the
setting of the child; in their world. In addi-
tion, prolonged engagement allows time and
space for adult/child power relationships to
be negotiated (Davis, 1998; Morrow and
Richards, 1996). This means that researchers
can work at reducing the power imbalance
evident in child and adult relationships lead-
ing to a more open forum for children to
communicate with the researcher. Further-
more, the time spent in the field presents op-
portunities to utilise several methods and
provide different angles on the same phe-
nomena. This is a powerful feature of
ethnography which entails a process of de-
veloping or evolving over time (as the
ethnography progresses) - essentially pro-
viding it with flexibility and a sense of self-
correction (Eder and Corsaro, 1999).
Consent
From the childhood studies perspective chil-
dren are considered competent social actors
and have the right to be consulted and heard
on matters that affect them (UN Conven-
tion on the rights of the child, Article 12).
In this sense, consent is more than the agree-
ment of gatekeepers to conduct research
with children but about respecting children
and their rights as human beings to say no
(Fine and Sandstrom, 1988; Miller, 2000).
Miller (2000: 1231) stated that “In order to
consent or assent a person requires infor-
mation shared in such a way that it is com-
prehensible”. Therefore, the research was
explained to children such that it was de-
velopmentally appropriate. Despite consent
initially being provided by adults every
effort was made to ensure that children un-