Tuesday 14th July      Wednesday 15th July      Thursday 16th July      Friday 17th July     

Friday 17th July, 09:00 - 10:30 Room: L-103

Surveying children and young people 3
Convenor	Miss Emily Gilbert (Centre for Longitudinal Studies, Institute of Education )
Coordinator 1	Ms Lisa Calderwood (Centre for Longitudinal Studies, Institute of Education)

Session Details

Many large-scale surveys successfully collect a variety of different types of data from children and young people. However, there is relatively little methodological evidence in this area. Much of the literature relating to children and young people’s participation in research focuses on small-scale qualitative studies and tends to concentrate on ethical issues relating to the rights of children and young people in research. This session will cover experiences of including children and young people in surveys, and related survey design issues. The session aims to explore a variety of methodological issues around surveying children and young people. Submissions are particularly welcomed on:
- designing questionnaires for children and young people, including question testing methods
- collecting sensitive data from children and young people, including methods for ensuring privacy and encouraging accurate reporting
- collecting different types of data from children and young people, including physical measurements, cognitive assessments, biological samples and time use data
- using different methods of data collection, including the use of innovative technology such as the web and mobile phones
- inclusivity in data collection methods, including facilitating the participation of young people with lower literacy levels
- assessing the reliability and validity of young people’s self-reports
- preventing non-response by engaging young people in research, including designing survey materials to appeal to young people and using new technology and digital media for participant engagement
- ethical issues in involving children and young people in surveys, including gaining informed consent and protecting children’s rights and well-being

Paper Details

1. Measuring Young People’s Prejudice: Challenges and Psychometric Properties of a Prejudice Scale in a Cross European Survey
Dr Haridhan Goswami (Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Sociology, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)

This article discusses a number of challenges in developing a suitable measure for a cross European survey. It presents results of psychometric tests on a scale developed for measuring young people’s prejudice against minority groups as part the FP7 European Commission funded MYPLACE project. Data for this paper are obtained from a representative survey among 18,000 young people in 14 European countries. Convergent, discriminant and criterion validity of the scale was assessed by testing the relations of prejudice scale with other theoretically relevant variables. Suggestions for future comparative studies among young people are also put forward.

2. Does adding items increase the reliability of the Family Affluence Scale?
Dr Katrina Lloyd (Queen's University Belfast)
Dr Paula Devine (Queen's University Belfast)

The four-item Family Affluence Scale is a measure of material affluence. It is easy for children to answer, with a high item response rate. However, its low internal consistency reliability may be due to the small number of items, or it could be that the items are outdated. This paper will report on an attempt to update the FAS by adding items that might better reflect current family affluence to an online survey of 10/11 year olds, Kids’ Life and Times (KLT) in 2014. The paper will discuss the findings, the reliability and implications of amending the scale.

3. Children’s and Young People’s Well-being: Validity and Reliability of Self Reported Measures
Dr Haridhan Goswami (Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Sociology, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)

There has been an increasing number of studies on children's and young people's well-being at national and international levels in recent years. However, developing a reliable and valid measure of well-being suitable for children and young people is still considered as one of the major challenges for research with this specific group of population. This paper discusses the limitations and advantages of some self-reported measures of well-being commonly used in research with children and young people.

4. Investigating education from the first year onwards: The early childhood cohort of the National Educational Panel Study
Ms Manja Attig (Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories)
Professor Hans-günther Roßbach (Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories)
Professor Sabine Weinert (University of Bamberg)

The early childhood cohort of the National Educational Panel Study investigated education-relevant processes from birth onwards. The first survey took place when the infants were 7 month olds. Assessments included direct observations of children and their learning environment (videotaped) and indirect measures (e.g. parent interviews). Testing infants in their home environment within a large-scale study is a challenge with respect to standardization and reliability of the measures. We discuss the measures used concerning their challenges, potentials, the concept of the interviewer training as well as the advantages and disadvantages of testing the infants in a household setting.