ABSTRACT
Researchers should consider all important historical, theological, and ideological perspectives on childhood before beginning their studies on childhood and its social and cultural context. Representations of childhood are common in a range of fields and materials including history, autobiography, sociology, psychology, children’s books, studies of educational practice, and media analysis. Traditional positivistic methodologies used in research with children have emphasized large-scale quantitative observation, measurement, and assessment of children and viewed children as mere objects to be studied. Photography gives an active role to children in data gathering and can build a bridge between the child participants and researchers. Involvement of children in the research process can help with understanding the structural, situational, and personal complexity of their lives. One way for assessing children’s message comprehension is to show pictures of children in different scenarios and ask the child subjects to point to the sketch that says what the advertising is trying to get them to do.
