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In the following, you can find information about the main issues concerning data protection and children’s rights in the project.
Participation is voluntary
Children decide, together with their parents or legal guardians, whether they want to participate. Participation in the project is free and voluntary.
Even if children and their family said ‘yes’ at the beginning of the project, they can always change their minds and stop the interview at any time, without giving any reason. They can also withdraw their participation after the interview has taken place by calling or sending an email to the research team.
Children's booklet
Children and their families will be better able to decide whether they want to participate if they know their rights. Children’s rights in the research are also available in the Children’s Booklet, a small book with pictures available in English and German that children and parents can read together before making their decision.
Consent forms
Children and parents (or legal guardians) who agree to participate in the project will receive a consent form stating their rights (as explained in the booklet). Parents’ consent forms are available in German, English, Italian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Serbian, Turkish and Albanian. The consent forms are signed in duplicate, one copy remaining with the researcher and the other with the participant. Children and families who might prefer to give verbal consent can also voice record their consent on the day of the interview. Children who do not have any adult responsible for them should talk to the research team to check the possibilities.
Children do not need to answer all the questions
Children can always say ‘pass’ to any questions that they do not want to answer, without giving any reason. In the same way, children can do the drawing and make the map only if they want to.
Children's benefits from participating
One important benefit for the children is to have a great time with the researcher (and other children if they take part in the focus group or opt to participate in the interview with a friend/sibling) and to talk about important aspects of their lives. Having a place to talk about their well-being and being taking seriously in a research project are important advantages for the children. The project does not give any other direct benefit to the children who participate but aims, with their help, to highlight the aspects that are important for children in general to feel good. With this information, the researchers will write reports that can help to build better places for all children.
Children's harm what participating
Children should experience no harm when participating in the project. The project is about well-being, and they will mostly talk about things that are important to them to feel good. However, some children can become upset when they think about their lives, about the things that they would like to have or the things that they would like to be different. If a child becomes upset during an interview, the researchers will take a break or stop the interview completely. Depending on the reason, and if it is child’s wish, the researcher can offer some support and give the child and the family the names and phone numbers of other people who can help them further. In those cases, researchers may also contact the child and the family on a second occasion to ask whether they need more assistance.
Protecting real names
The participation of the children is confidential, and the researchers will not inform anybody that they took part. They will protect children’s identity by changing their real names to pseudonyms (fake names) chosen by the children themselves. The researchers will write down what the children said by transcribing the interviews after they have taken place. They will then change the names of (anonymize) all the people whom the children talked about and the names of places, schools or the city where the children live. In this way, the children cannot be recognized.
Protecting the interviews, drawings and maps
The participation of the children is confidential, and the researchers will not inform anybody that they took part. They will protect children’s identity by changing their real names to pseudonyms (fake names) chosen by the children themselves. The researchers will write down what the children said by transcribing the interviews after they have taken place. They will then change the names of (anonymize) all the people whom the children talked about and the names of places, schools or the city where the children live. In this way, the children cannot be recognized.
The written interviews with anonymized names, as well as the anonymized scanning of children’s drawings and maps, will be saved in a secured folder, stored on the University of Zurich’s server, and will be locked with a password. It will only be accessible by the research team. This anonymized material will also be used for publications when the project ends.
Breaking confidentiality
The researchers will only have to break confidentiality and inform others about children’s real identity in the situation that a question of child protection arises, that is, if the researcher is informed that:
In such cases, child protection becomes a priority and the researchers have the responsibility for checking viable support to help the child and the family.
Results
he aspects that the researchers will learn about with the children in the project will be used to write reports, give classes, train students and discuss the results with other researchers around the world. Parents and families who are interested in the results can access them on the project webpage/Results or contact the research team by email or phone.
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In case you have doubts about children’s protection in the research, you can always contact the research team or the Ethics Committee of the University of Zurich:
Ethics Committee – University of Zürich Prof. Dr. Lilly Shanahan Andreasstrasse, 15, P.O. Box 12 CH-8050 Zürich chair.ethics.committee@phil.uzh.ch
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