Ethical issues in research on children

Abstract

Ethical issues that appear in researching children are the subject matter of relatively rich scientific literature, as well as a multitude of national and professional ethical codices. The broad thematization of ethical principles is indeed instigated by the rise of awareness of the seriousness of this problem, as well as by growing fears of potential abuse of children in contemporary research projects. General assertion that children are a vulnerable category of subjects that require special attention and protection from misuse in research projects prevails in literature. The main objective of this paper is to present general ethical issues that various areas of expertise researchers face when children and youth are the subjects of their studies. The principle of voluntary participation, the principle of balanced researcher - respondent relationship, and the principles of privacy, confidentiality and anonymity in studies of children are particularly presented.

Etičkim problemima istraživanja u kojima učestvuju deca posvećena je relativno bogata literatura, kao i mnoštvo nacionalnih i profesionalnih etičkih kodeksa. Široka tematizacija etičkih principa upravo je podstaknuta narastanjem svesti o ozbiljnosti ovog problema, kao i sve većim strahovima od mogućih zloupotreba dece u savremenim istraživačkim projektima. U literaturi preovlađuje opšta tvrdnja da su deca ranjiva kategorija ispitanika koja zahteva posebnu pažnju i zaštitu od mogućih zloupotreba u istraživanjima. Osnovni cilj ovog rada jeste da se izlože generalni etički problemi sa kojima se istraživači društvenih naučnih disciplina suočavaju onda kada su subjekti njihovih istraživanja deca i mladi. Posebno se izlažu princip dobrovoljnog učešća, princip balansiranog odnosa istraživač - ispitanik, kao i principi privatnosti, poverljivosti i anonimnosti u studijama dece.