Doing Rights-Based Participatory Research with Pavement- and Slum-Dwelling Children in Kolkata, India

Drawing on my PhD field research in Kolkata, India, this paper will explore methods and methodology adopted in doing rights-based participatory research with pavement- and slum-dwelling children and its ethical implications. The study involved exploring the everyday lives of pavement- and slum-dwelling children and examined their own perspectives, experiences, and actions through which they constructed their childhood. A total of 70 children of ages seven to seventeen participated in this study. The majority of children lived with their parents or grandparents.

In rights-based research, children are seen as social actors with their own distinctive abilities to understand and explain their world. This study used a multi-method approach including participant observation, written methods such as diary and essay written by children, visual methods such as drawings and photos taken by children and group discussion. The methods used allowed the children to participate actively and freely in meaningful ways. Multiple participatory techniques helped in sustaining children’s interest in the research moment while providing varied opportunities and modes of expression for children in wide age group.

This paper will evaluate methodology including the ethical issues encountered in the field during the process of obtaining informed consent, maintaining privacy and confidentiality of the participants. I will highlight the challenges faced in my positionality as researcher and discuss the ethical concerns with giving gifts to the participants.

I will conclude with the challenges of implementing rights-based research into practice and argue that ethics should be situational and responsive based on the specific sociocultural setting and circumstances. Researchers need to be reflexive and prepared to think on their foot and respond in the most appropriate way, in case of any ethical situation in the field.