Tuning-in to teenagers! Using radio phone-in discussions in research with young people

Weller, Susie (2006) Tuning-in to teenagers! Using radio phone-in discussions in research with young people. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 9 (4), 303-315. (doi:10.1080/13645570600435611).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Since the 1990s, research with children has witnessed epistemological changes which have challenged traditional research methods and have attempted to deconstruct notions of children as passive and incompetent. Such changes, epitomized by children-centred research methods, aim to redress power imbalances by encouraging participants to select their own forms of communication. Participation and innovation are central to this approach. Simultaneously, but quite distinct from research methodology, community radio has become an important mechanism in promoting social inclusion. Globally, this means of community participation has been advocated by organizations that have utilized radio as an educational tool for promoting children’s rights. This paper suggests that the synthesis of radio phone-in discussions with the ‘New Social Studies of Childhood’ forms a constructive basis for developing a participatory research method. Methodological issues arising from a teenage-centred radio phone-in will be explored. The paper concludes by discussing the viability of the radio phone-in as a meaningful method for promoting teenagers’, often unheard, voices.

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