Researching Young People′s Lives

′Researching young people′s lives will be useful to both the novice researcher and anyone interested in learning about new methods of practice′ - Youth Studies Australia

Researching Young People′s Lives provides an overview of some of the key methodological challenges facing youth researchers and an introduction to the broad repertoire of methods used in youth-orientated research.

The book is split into two sections. In the first half of the book, the authors consider the broad methodological and contextual concerns of relevance to the design and conduct of youth research, including ethical issues, the importance of context, and the rise of participatory approaches to youth research. The second part of the book focuses on the use of specific research methods in the conduct of youth research, ranging from surveys and secondary analysis through to interviewing, ethnography, visual methods, and the use of the internet in youth research. Throughout the book, the emphasis is on research in practice, and examples are drawn from recent youth research projects from a wide range of disciplines and substantive areas, and from a range of both UK and non-UK contexts.

This is an ideal introduction to the field for novice researchers, in particular students studying and researching in the broad area of youth studies. It should also appeal to practitioners engaged in evaluation of service provision to young people, and to established youth researchers who might wish to explore the potential of using a different set of methods to those with which they are already familiar.

Rachel Brooks is Professor of Sociology and Head of the Sociology Department at the University of Surrey in the UK and co-editor of Sociological Research Online. She has carried out a wide range of research projects on different aspects of education, with a particular focus on higher education and lifelong learning. Most recently, her research has focussed on: international student mobility; the funding of higher education; and a cross-national comparison of the experiences of university students with parental responsibilities. Rachel also has a strong interest in research methods. She co-authored Researching Young People’s Lives (Sage, 2009), and co-edited Negotiating Ethical Dilemmas in Youth Research (Routledge, 2013) with Kitty te Riele.   Prof. Elizabeth Cleaver is Professor of Learning and Teaching at the University of the West of England, UK (UWE) where she has built and leads the University’s Academic Practice Directorate: the central hub for the support, development and enhancement of academic programmes and practice. Over a career spanning 23 years she has taught, written and researched in sociology and education. Her early academic career was in the discipline of sociology where she specialised in the area of youth transitions to adulthood (early works are published in name Kenyon). It was during this period that her interest in disciplinary teaching approaches, and the importance of not just thinking and researching sociologically, but teaching sociologically, began to grow. Following a six-year spell outside the HE sector, undertaking local and government-funded policy research and evaluations at NFER, she returned to higher education in 2008. This most recent stage of Elizabeth’s career has focused on providing strategic leadership for curricular and pedagogic development and change in a range of contrasting higher education institutions.  Elizabeth is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Eleanor is a Research Director in the Children and Young People group at NatCen.  She has worked at NatCen for four years and works on both qualitative and quantitative projects.  Her research areas at NatCen include parental separation and child support, and anti-social behaviour.  Prior to NatCen she worked at the National Foundation for Educational Research where she carried out qualitative and quantitative research with children, young people and adults in a range of policy areas.