ABSTRACT
This chapter focusses on the challenges involved in researching on a personal topic of poverty and social exclusion with child participants. Gaining access and building relationships with both children and their families while minimising intrusion into their lives is outlined. Giving the children the choice to decide on their participation and then gain parental consent in line with viewing them as having both the right and ability to express their own opinions is explained. Also discussed is how data collection instruments were piloted with and adapted to children to facilitate them in expressing their viewpoints. This enabled the researchers to capture children’s representations of their living conditions and what social exclusion meant to them. It is concluded that involving children directly in research about topics that impact on their lives not only permitted the collection of data but was also empowering for the children and increased their understanding that they were active citizens.
