Best Practice Research Guide

I. Designing the research

• FAQ 1: When is it better to do qualitative or quantitative research?
• FAQ 2: How do I design a project with multiple data sources?
• FAQ 3: When is it best to use focus group, in-depth interviews or observations?
• FAQ 4: How should quantitative research be evaluated?
• FAQ 5: How should qualitative research be evaluated?
• FAQ 6: How young a child can one work with?
• FAQ 7: In comparative research, how do I choose which countries to compare?
• FAQ 8: When is it best to use a longitudinal design?

II. Sampling and recruitment

• FAQ 9: How do we sample children for qualitative research?
• FAQ 10: How do you sample children for quantitative research?
• FAQ 11: Is it OK to interview parents as informants on their children?
• FAQ 12: How can I recruit particular subgroups of children?
• FAQ 13: What are the ethical issues involved in researching children?
• FAQ 14: Should I provide incentives for children to take part in the research?

III. Methods of data collection

• FAQ 15: What are the best ways to interview children?
• FAQ 16: What are the best ways to construct a survey questionnaire?
• FAQ 17: How do I order the questions in a survey or interview?
• FAQ 18: What are some good tips for phrasing questions in a survey to children?
• FAQ 19: How should I refer to children's media/activities?
• FAQ 20: How do you adjust data collection methods for different age groups?
• FAQ 21: Who should interview children - what difference does it make?
• FAQ 22: How do I ask children questions about time use?
• FAQ 23: What's the best way of asking children sensitive questions?
• FAQ 24: What's the best way to ask about parental mediation?
• FAQ 25: Is it better to research children at home, at school or elsewhere?
• FAQ 26: How can I measure children's socio-economic background?
• FAQ 27: How do we maximise the reliability and validity of children's answers?
• FAQ 28: What shall I do if a child respondent seems to be at risk?
• FAQ 29: What do I need to know to do research with children online?
• FAQ 30: What are the key issues when collecting data in more than one country?

IV. Approaches to data analysis

• FAQ 31: What are some good approaches to analysing qualitative data?
• FAQ 32: What are some good approaches to analysing quantitative data?
• FAQ 33: How do I bring qualitative and quantitative data together?
• FAQ 34: How do I compare data from parents and children?

V. Reporting the findings

• FAQ 35: How do I report my qualitative data?
• FAQ 36: How do I report my quantitative data?
• FAQ 37: How shall I compare my findings with research by others?
• FAQ 38: How can I ensure my findings are not misunderstood?
• FAQ 39: Should I give feedback on the findings to my interviewees?